The Next Chapter
by authorH
Summary: Takes place after the Season 14 finale, bringing in a family member of a Grey's Favorite who fits right in with everyone. Written in different perspectives.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 _ **AN2:**_ _I am reposting this and fixing the names because everyone kept commenting on the story talking about that, instead of the story._

 **AMBER**

My name is Amber Evans. I've just been hired as the Head of Orthopedic Surgery at Grey+Sloan Memorial Hospital in Seattle, Washington. I just moved from Denver where I did my residency. I have a daughter named Hannah that came with me. She just turned two years old and her father and I were acquaintances at our small town High School but ended up doing our residency together. After a night of celebrating a particularly tough surgery, we ended up in an alleyway, against a dumpster. I'll probably never tell my daughter that, unless I really want to gross her out. Luckily, he didn't freak out and we decided to remain friends and do this together. Cole is a great guy and an amazing father. He was happy for me with this job offer. His wife-to-be adores Hannah as well. We decided while she's still young, we can take months, except during the summer when they will keep her for almost three months since Allie is a school teacher and has the summers off.

In my contract, I was able to negotiate cost of travel for my daughter. I was surprised they agreed but I'm a great surgeon and it was clear that they really wanted me. Chief of Surgery Miranda Bailey explained their last Head of Ortho moved to New York a few years ago and they were just substituting Residents and Fellows from different Hospitals. Today is my first day and I'm pumped.

I've dropped Hannah off at the on-site daycare and headed down to Chief Bailey's Office. She asked me to meet her there to sign the last of my contract and then accompany her to a welcome party in my honor. I tried to tell her it wasn't necessary, but she insisted that she wanted me to meet the other head of departments. It's not that I didn't want to make friends, but I just wanted to get settled in to a routine.

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Clapping her hands loudly, Chief Bailey addressed the room. "Quiet Down, Everyone. Thank you all for making time in your busy schedules to be here. I would like you all to meet our newly appointed Head of Orthopedic Surgery, Dr. – "

In the back of the room, I heard a door open and close. Before I could look up, I heard a voice I didn't think I'd ever hear again.

"AMBER?"

 _Oh FUCK._

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"Amber Evans." Bailey finished, looking up at the outburst. "Karev? Do you have something to say?"

I looked up to see the man who had the outburst and our eyes locked. His eyes were searching mine and I knew that look. I've known that look my entire life. He's trying to figure out if I'm hurt or if I need something. I stared back at him with absolutely no emotion. I didn't even think to check if he was still here. I knew he did his internship in Seattle and had met his now ex-wife here but he had plans to move on to bigger and better things. I hadn't seen him in almost ten years.

Everyone in the room was looking from Alex to me. I decided to break the ice first. "Alexander. Nice to see you, Big Brother."

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The entire room silenced and a few people had their mouths open in surprise. I really hadn't done any research on my fellow surgeons, which was my fault. This wasn't going to be easy. The last time I saw him was at the trial for my brother who attempted to murder me while in a raging bipolar episode. He showed up, he committed Aaron, sent my mother to rehab and asked if I was okay before he split. He left a card on the front door of the house. I've kept it after all these years.

 _Amber,  
I'm so sorry that this happened to you. Aaron is sick, he always has been, like mom. You need to get out of this town and stay away. Make something of yourself. I believe in you.  
I've left for Seattle. I'm sorry, but with everything going on in my life, I can't be apart of this family anymore. I have to worry about me, my life, my career.  
I won't ever stop loving you, little sister. I hope you can understand. I've deposited some money into your account at the bank. Get a new phone, get a new number and get out of here. It's the only way you'll have a normal life.  
I love you, kiddo.  
Your Big Brother,  
Alex_

"You went to med school?" he asked, still looking dumbfounded that I was here. Two women were on his sides, both having a protective arm around him.

"Welcome to Grey+Sloan, Dr. Evans...Everyone, get back to your cases." It was clear that Bailey was trying to diffuse the situation. Everyone started piling out of the room but the two women on my brother's side didn't leave and neither did Baily. I heard Alex tell them it was okay and to go on. Bailey took the cue as well and the next thing I knew it was just the two of us, about ten feet apart, staring at each other.

"You're going by Dad's Name?" Another question escaped his mouth. I couldn't believe after all this time those are the first two questions out of his mouth. How about, how have I been? Well, I guess I shouldn't be too upset, I'm sure this is a serious shock to him. This has clearly been his home for a while and here I am, reminding him of all the bad times.

Sighing and rolling my eyes, I figured it was easier to just get this out of the way. "Yes, I went to Med School and yes, I use Dad's Name. Nana and Papa were always good to me and I had no good role models with the last name of 'Karev'. I've been fine, by the way. I've made something of my life, I'm happy and I'm excited to work here. If you have an issue with that, I'm sorry. I knew you did your internship in Seattle but Grey+Sloan didn't sound familiar. I honestly didn't think you'd stay in the same city and I didn't really have any inkling or care to check on if you were still around here. I haven't thought of you in years, so I hope we can exist at the same hospital with no issues. I'm glad you're doing well."

"Amber, I – "he started but I held up a hand.

"I understand, Alex. No need to rehash old wounds. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd really like to get started on my first day."

With that, I walked past him and out the doors of the conference room. Swinging a left, I didn't even notice the three women who last left the room waiting outside, looking curious and worried. It was clear that Alex had a support system here. I have no idea what this is going to do to my new job. I just need to go and find work.

 _I hope you all enjoyed! This is going to be a multi-part story, bring in a lot of the staff from Grey+Sloan, I hope you'll stick around!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **ALEX**

I stood rooted to the spot in the conference room. My little sister was working at Grey+Sloan. She was head of a department. She was grown up and she clearly didn't give two shits about me.

I let myself think back to the last time I saw her. Committing Aaron after a bipolar episode resulted in him trying to kill our baby sister. I was so messed up at that point. Izzie had just sent me divorce papers and then I had gotten the call about his family. I went right away, back to my hometown to pick up the pieces as I always had. Amber was okay, she was shaken up and banged up a little but she had managed to protect herself. Mom was high on whatever pain killers she had managed to get her hands on. Aaron was in the local jail.

I took the first day there to take my mother to Rehab. I paid for it in full, putting it on a credit card and promising myself I would work extra over time in the next few weeks. I then went to the bank and deposited the few thousand dollars I had in there to Lindsey's account. I hated doing this, but I knew it was what needed to be done. On my second day, I sat in Aaron's Arraignment hearing. I was called on to vouge for my brother's sanity and I did one of the hardest things I've had ever done. I told the Judge that Aaron had problems and needed help, help that I could not provide him being so far away. I pleaded to the judge to let me enter my brother in a program for Extreme Bipolar Patients and forgo Prison. The judge agreed and I followed the state issued van to the Center to sign the papers. After leaving, I wrote out a card and drove it to the home U grew up in. I stuck it to the door and left, promising myself that I would never look back.

"Alex?" I turned around and saw my wife, Jo walking towards me. "Are you okay?"

As she got closer, she held out her arms and I fell into them, doing something I didn't do very often. I cried.

 **AMBER**

My pager went off, summoning me to the ER. Despite the surprise at this morning's welcome meeting, the day was going smoothly and quickly. I had stopped by the daycare on lunch and saw a very happy Hannah who seemed to have already made friends. I knew that Hannah settling in would be the final call as to whether this was a good idea or not and I could already tell that it was. Pulling my phone out and texting Cole the pictures of Hannah with her new friends, I walked quickly into the hustle and bustle of the ER.

"Hey Evans, I've got a four-year-old with a break but I wanted a consult with him being so young. With it being your first day, I wasn't sure how you handled these types of cases." Head of Trauma Owen Hunt handed her an iPad with the child's file pulled up.

"Thanks, Hunt. I'll be sure to type of a memo of Ortho Procedures so that it can be passed around. But for the record, I do like to weigh in on cases when the patient is so young." I replied with a smile. Looking at the file and seeing the child was in Bay 5, I made my way over there.

Opening the curtain, I made my way into the small makeshift room. Inside a small boy lay on the bed looking scared, with his father standing next to him, his arm protectively over him. On the other side of the bed stood my older brother. "Hi Mason! My name is Dr. Evans and I'm a bone doctor. I was hoping to get a look at your arm so we can fix it up and get you home. Would that be okay?" The small boy nodded and held out his left arm. Alex moved over so I could stand next to the boy and exam the break.

After a few questions of the general "does this hurt?" kind, Alex handed me the x-rays. I looked over them and they confirmed what I had originally thought after my exam. Two breaks, relatively clean. This would be an easy fix, for the most part.

"Dr. Karev, do you mind waiting in here with Mason while I talk to his father outside?" I asked, looking at Alex. He nodded and Mason's father followed me outside the curtains. I explained to him the two breaks and what I suggested for treatment. He looked relieved right away and I smiled. I knew what it was like to have a child in pain. He smiled and went back to his son and I went to find Hunt.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but should I be setting this kid's arm or do you like your interns to do things like this? It's not that I don't want to, I'm just not sure how it is in a teaching hospital."

Laughing, Owen looked up from his computer work to me. "We do try to get the interns involved as much as possible but they haven't had much Ortho training. I suggest taking one and showing them how to do it. Lyle! You're with our new Head of Ortho today. Meet Dr. Amber Evans." A young girl walked over, smiling nervously. I shook her hand and asked if she was ready to set some bones. The nervous look disappeared immediately and I saw something that I remember having myself - excitement for the medicine.

Lyle listened intently as I set the boy's arm. I had her dress and cast it, letting her explain the procedures for taking care of it once they were back home. After they were discharged I asked her if she wanted to follow me around for the rest of the day and she eagerly nodded. I went to see if I could take her from Hunt and he agreed, wishing us a fun time. The rest of the day went along quickly and it was nice to have someone depending on me to teach them. After finishing the reports for the day, I decided to pick up Hannah and work on the Ortho Procedure Memo at home. It had been a good day, but I wanted to go home and have a little time with my girl before she went to bed.

Hannah was excited to see me and I thanked the Daycare staff for making her first day so great. I picked her up and threw both of our bags over my shoulder and headed to the elevator. "I missed you Baby! Did you have a good day today? Did you do a lot of playing?" Hannah held tightly to my neck babbling about her day. Her vocabulary was pretty good for a two-year-old, but when she got excited there was no way you could understand her completely. She leaned forward in the elevator wanting to push the button so I let her and she continued babbling on the way down.

Exiting the Elevator and walking towards the main entrance I heard someone call my name behind me. I whirled around and saw Alex with one of the brunettes he was next to at the meeting this morning. I looked at Hannah and smiled. _Well, he was going to find out eventually, at least she's cute and he probably won't yell at me since she's here,_ I thought. I lied when I told him earlier I hadn't thought about him in years. When I found out I was pregnant, him being disappointed in me was one of my first thoughts. Until I remembered that he left.

"Hi Alex. Hi, I don't think we've met yet. My name is Amber." I say, nodding to the woman beside him. She's pretty and it's clear she's trying to remain as objectively towards me as she can.

"Amber, this is my wife Jo. And who's this?" Alex asked, looking at Hannah.

"Wow, congratulations! Nice to meet you Jo. This – "I state giving Hannah a little tickle so she giggles, "is my daughter Hannah. Hannah, this is your Uncle Alex and Aunt Jo."

I didn't miss the shocked look on Alex's face. Probably because I have a child and probably because I referred to him and Jo as her aunt and uncle. Looking down at my daughter, I saw that her eyes were wide and she wouldn't take them off of Alex. "Unc Lex? LEX? Me, Lex too!" she started babbling pointing at herself and at Alex before launching herself from me to him. Jo laughed at her husband as he caught his niece with a humongous smile on his face.

"Hi Hannah…" he said sweetly, hugging her to him. "You look just like your mommah!"

Hannah reached out and touched the tip of his nose. "Pretty." She said, before snuggling up to his neck and looking at me. I smiled at her then looked up at my brother.

Before I could chicken out, I quickly rushed, "I was going to make spaghetti for dinner…Nana's recipe. Would you guys want to join us?"

 _Thanks everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter….I did!_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Chapters will be in different Characters perspectives. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **AMBER**

"Make yourselves at home. This won't take me long." I say to Jo and Alex, who excitedly agreed to come over to have dinner with us. "Hannah, please put your backpack away and make sure your shoes are on the mat next to the door."

Hannah put her bag on the little hook I had installed yesterday that was just her height and made sure her shoes were straight on the mat. She then walked right over to Jo and tapped on her leg. "Aunt Jo, read?"

"Ask nicely, Hannah. You know what we've talked about." I called into the living room, both happy and surprised that she was so forward. Cole didn't have any siblings and she hadn't spent much time around Allie's big family. My best friend Leslie had held the title of Aunt since Hannah was born and she was great with her. I had a feeling that my daughter missed my best friend just as much as I did.

"Pease Aunt Jo, can you read to me?" she recited, a look of concentration on her face. She made this face whenever she was trying to get all of her words right and act like "a big girl".

Jo laughed, "Of course sweetheart. You pick out the book and come up here and we'll read before dinner." Hannah grinned and ran over to the bookshelf. I couldn't help but laugh as she went back to the couch with not one but four books. Alex took this opportunity to walk over to the kitchen and sat on one of the barstools.

"Amb, where is her dad?" He asked quietly, looking at me expertly cut up onions.

Not taking my eyes off of my task, I decided to just be honest. "He's in Denver, Head of Cardio. His name is Cole. He's a wonderful man and an amazing father. I doubt you would remember him but we went to high school together. I went to Baylor for med school and then did my internship in Wisconsin. I was offered a residence spot at Rocky Mountain in Denver and he had just gotten there too. We quickly became good friends and we both scrubbed in on a surgery that had about a 10% rate of survival. The patient survived and everyone involved went out to celebrate. We got drunk, we got carried away and nine months later, Hannah made her entrance."

"He didn't want to be with you?" Alex asked and I could tell in his tone he already wanted to kick Cole's ass for knocking up his sister.

I emptied the onions into the sauté pan with butter and starting stirring them around. As I started boiling water for the noodles, I looked up at him. "Alex, look. I appreciate the concern but it wasn't like that. We didn't want to be together. We were friends and we both didn't want to terminate something we had done, whether we meant to or not. He stuck by me, he was there for everything. He helped with money and made sure neither of us needed anything. Hell, he met someone, got very serious and they are getting married in a few months and he made sure that she knew we were important to him. She adores Hannah. Even moving here, he encouraged me to do it because he knew what an amazing opportunity it was. Until she starts school, we'll be going back and forth monthly with her. She'll stay there for the summer since his fiancé is a school teacher and she has summers off. He's wonderful, it just wasn't meant for us to be. We're all very happy and no one regrets anything."

Alex looked thoughtfully at me. "I'm sorry for leaving that note. I shouldn't have just left you there. I should have brought you with me."

The hardest part of him leaving was feeling like my brother didn't want me. I had looked up to him for as long as I could remember. He was the closest thing she had to a father figure. "Alex, I forgive you. Honestly, it was terrible, but I knew that you were right. I did what you told me to. I got out and I made something of myself. I hated you at first, but I actually did a double Masters, one in Psychology and you're sort of the poster kid for the whole 'tough love' thing."

"Double Masters and Med School? You always were the best out of us." He laughed, opening the beer I handed him. I smiled. After all this time, it was nice to finally feel like my brother was proud of me. I didn't have any communication with any family anymore but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss it.

"Thanks." I said embarrassed. The sauce and noodles were almost done, so I called out for Jo and Hannah to go to the table. Hannah ran right past the table and launched herself into her uncle's arms.

"Aunt Jo is good rweading!" she said excitedly. I smiled at Jo, hoping she could see in my eyes that her kindness was appreciated. I started to walk the food over to the table and Jo grabbed dishes and followed. Alex had put Hannah in her high chair and sat next to her.

"Hey Hannah, why don't you tell Uncle Alex what your full name is?" I said, sitting down on her empty side.

"Hannah Alexandria Evans-Fuller!" she yelled out with a smile. I couldn't be positive but I thought I saw Alex swallow his emotions as his eyes bounced from her to me.

"That is one of the most beautiful names I've ever heard." He said smiling at her. She returned the smile before asking me for "sketti".

 **JACKSON**

 _I don't know what it is,_ I thought to myself. Ever since April's wedding to Matthew and her and Harriett moving away, my heart wasn't as sure about Maggie. April and I had our share of ups and downs, an understatement if I had ever heard one. I always thought we would end up together again. I know she was happy though and Matthew could give her the life that she wanted and needed. We had decided on me taking Harriett for a week a month and I knew I was welcome to go see them whenever I wanted. Positives of having a jet on hand, I supposed. All I know is that while I do care about Maggie, it wasn't with the passion and fire that I had experienced with April. I wasn't getting any younger and I didn't want to continue and hurt her more. I knew what I had to do. I took out my phone and typed out a message.

 _J: Hey, want to meet at Joe's tonight? I should be out of here by 8.  
M: Sure! I can't wait. Miss you ; )_

Putting my phone back in my pocket, I started walking towards the elevator. I needed to check on a few patients that were on the eighth floor. _One day,_ I thought, _I'll stop dating people who work at this damn hospital._

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I arrived at Joe's a few minutes after 8. I almost cancelled. As much as I knew I had to do this, I didn't want to hurt her. It wasn't that I didn't care, it was more that it just wasn't something I thought would be what I wanted long term. I had no idea what to say. I went straight to the bar, asked Joe himself for a shot of Jameson and a draft. I shot back the Jameson at once and heard someone behind me, "Uh, bad day?" It was her.

"Hey Mags," I said, blocking her attempt at a kiss with my cheek. She looked at me weirdly then looked at the empty shot glass, the beer and the fact that I didn't have his coat off.

"Oh…" she said, trying not to tear up. "Can I ask why?"

I sighed and scratched my head. "It's not you, really. I care about you a lot. You're beautiful, so smart and so caring. But I just can't help but think that this isn't what I want. There isn't anyone else, I just…I don't know."

Maggie looked up at me and I could tell she understood. "This was always a long shot, J." It hurt me to hear her call her the nickname that only she referred to me as. "You and Kepner were iconic. Her getting married was obviously going to make you start thinking about your future. This sucks yeah, but we said before this started that we would always remain professional. Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate it more than you know."

With a small smile, she leaned up, gently kissed my cheek again and then was gone. I turned back to the bar signaling for another shot. I was glad she took it well but it still didn't make me feel good. _Time to man up and decide what I really want,_ I thought, immediately draining the second shot placed in front of me.

 _I hope you guys enjoyed this! I'm currently on vacation and writing really helps me de-stress. Thanks for reading!_


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **ALEX**

"You broke it off with Pierce?!" I exclaimed when Jackson walked into the lounge. Jackson groaned and sat down next to me. "Does this have to do with Kepner getting married?" I asked staring at him.

"No! I mean, April getting married just really made me realize that if I want to find someone, I need to decide what I want. Maggie is beautiful and smart and caring…but the passion and fire just wasn't there. Sounds stupid and dramatic, but I just didn't want to get any further in this and hurt her anymore."

I sat back on my chair and folded my arms. "Huh. Well, good for you. I mean, I never understood the two of you. Yeah, she's cute and I know she's Mer's sister but…. she's annoying."

Jackson rolled his eyes and laughed. "Speaking of sisters, how's it going with yours? Talk about a Monday Morning Shock." Even though it had been a month since Amber Evans appointment at Grey+Sloan and his breakup with Maggie, he and Alex hadn't had much of a chance to talk.

"You have NO idea. But it's good. It turns out I have a niece! She's two and man, she's a firecracker. She is just like Lindsey. And even though I left her alone in that crap town, she ended up giving her daughter the middle name 'Alexandria' as a tribute to me. The father is in Denver and they are doing a month to month type of thing. I guess it was just a drunken night and they've been friends so it works out really well. Jo and I have had dinner with them a few times. We're actually taking her out to Joe's tonight. You should come! Hannah left to be with her dad last night, so this is the first time she's not needed to go home right after her shift."

Jackson remembered her resume. Bailey and Webber had actually flown to Denver to interview her and were adamant that this is who the hospital needed. It took some persuading for Aber Evans to accept. He had personally given the signature for her travel allowance for her daughter to travel back and forth to Denver. With all the excitement of her ending up being Karev's sister and breaking up with Maggie, he hadn't thought about much else.

"Okay…I actually haven't worked with her yet, so it would be nice to actually hear what she thinks of this place." After saying this, I groaned and looked over at his friend.

"Dude. You're going as a Doctor letting off some steam, not a Board Member doing a 30-day evaluation."

Jackson laughed. He needed a night out, it mise well be with all of the other people who needed nights out, too.

 **AMBER**

I hung up the phone and smiled. Hannah had only been gone for a night and I already missed her like crazy. Luckily, Allie and I have a good enough relationship that we call and text a lot whenever one of us has her. Allie said that they were on their way to the Denver Zoo and Hannah said she was excited to see the parrots. Poor Parrots, they are going to be so annoyed trying to repeat her.

I've been in Seattle for just over a month now and everything was going extremely well. All of the interns were excited to have someone in Ortho to teach them and the residents and fellows were super accepting of me. I had a feeling it was because of Alex and Jo, but I didn't mind. After our first dinner together, we made it a weekly occurrence and Hannah had grown extremely attached to her aunt and uncle. I even ran into Alex at the daycare who went up to give her a set of new coloring books on his lunch break. It obviously made him very popular with all of the daycare kids and I got to hear all the way home how Uncle Alex came to give her a present and there was enough for EVERYONE to have one. I guess I should be happy that she wanted to share.

Jo had accompanied me to the private air strip to drop off Hannah last night. Alex had got drug into surgery at the last minute and he was upset he wouldn't get to say goodbye. He made sure that Jo promised they could Facetime and Hannah cried hugging us goodbye. I refused to cry, I had to be the strong mom. I was already having an issue with my two-year-old traveling on a plane by herself, but the Hospital Board had insisted that the Avery Jet take her with two surgical interns to watch over her as part of their "Medicine Outside of the Hospital" requirement. I was secretly jealous because I had to go help give Flu Shots in the ghetto of Denver out of a Medi-van when I was an intern.

I knew that Grey+Sloan was bought by 5 surgeons who partnered with The Harper Avery Foundation. I also knew that the Head of Plastics was an Avery, but I hadn't worked with him yet. I was taken aback by their offer but I figured since they were the ones paying for the travel per my contract, they could decide how to do it.

Meredith Grey, who's sister Lexie Grey was one of the doctors that the hospital memorialized, was a very good friend of Alex and she immediately took a liking to me. She held the title of Chief of General Surgery and had exceptional talent. From everything that I heard about her late mother and husband, it was clear that Meredith Grey was just like them. She insisted that she get a babysitter tonight so that her and I, along with Alex, Jo and a handful of other surgeons could go over to the bar across the street from the hospital. She said that she thought I needed a night out. She was right, but I still resisted at first. It didn't take much convincing so I made sure to pack a bag of casual clothes for after my shift.

Meredith and Jo were waiting for me in the lounge at the end of the day. "Come on, get ready!" Jo said, laughing as I walked in. Both of them were already dressed for going out and I immediately groaned. They both looked amazing. I just felt like a kid next to them.

"Yeah, I was thinking that I would just go home tonight…" I started but was cut off by both of them yelling at me to go get changed. I rolled my eyes, grabbed my bag from my cubby and told them to give me ten minutes.

I'm not self-conscious. You can't really be when you're a doctor. You see people's everything it tends to make you appreciate what you have yourself. But I've never seen any of these people outside of work, so I'm nervous. I quickly changed from my scrubs to dark jeans and a yellow top that I was fully aware made my chest look extra noticeable and accented my thin waist. I took my hair out of it's ponytail and combed my hands through it a bit until it sat down a little better. I put some diamond studs into the holes in my ears (compliments of Hannah via Cole for Mother's Day last year) and clasped a dangling necklace around my neck. Brushing some bronzer on my face, brushing a little more mascara on and lining my eyes a little darker, I took one last look and headed out the door.

"Holy Crap!" Meredith exclaimed when I reached the lounge.

"You're a smoke show! Maybe it's a good thing that your brother wasn't around during your teenage years." Jo said with wide eyes. I busted out laughing. That was one bright side, I guess.

"Oh, shut up and let's go." I say, immediate color going to my face. This was going to be a long night.

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The three of us walked into Joe's and I immediately liked it. It was a hole in the wall and I was at ease right away. Alex spotted us and waved us over to the part of the bar a group of them were standing at. He greeted his wife with a kiss, Meredith with a joke and grabbed me into a hug. Things weren't totally normal between us but our family never really was. It was nice to be close to him again.

"You're an adult, but don't think I won't tell you I think your outfit is too revealing." He said once he pulled away. His wife hit him in the arm and he immediately put up his hands. "I'm just saying! I don't want men looking at my little sister like they're going to look at her!" Laughing, he grabbed three beers from the bar that were just placed down and gave each of us one. "I'm not sure if you know everyone here, so I'll introduce you."

Going around the small group, I said hello to Owen and Amelia. I hadn't worked with Amelia much but I knew her late brother was Meredith's husband and that some type of romance was going on between Owen and her. I was introduced to Bailey's husband, who I learned WAS a resident but left to pursue his dream of being on the Seattle Fire Department. After a few more introductions to doctors and one nurse I didn't know, Alex steered me towards the end of the group towards a tall guy who was watching the game on the screen above all the fancy bottles.

"Hey man," Alex said, causing the man to turn around and look at us. He was good looking, like extremely. It had been a long time since I had noticed a man's feature. His dark eyes looked kind and the way he held himself just told a girl that he was completely confident. I could see his strong chest underneath his shirt and I immediately made myself stop thinking, right then and there. "This is my little sister and our new Head of Ortho, Amber. Amber, this is my good friend and Head of Plastics, Jackson Avery."

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, reaching forward to shake his hand. "Dr. Avery, thank you so much for help with my daughter's travel arrangements yesterday. The interns were amazing with her and I didn't think she was going to stop talking about the ride when she called last night. I really, REALLY appreciate it." I smiled at him. I was somewhat taken aback by his dazzling smile back at me.

"It was no problem, but please – call me Jackson." When he let go of my hand, I felt disappointed. _What is going on with me?!_ I thought. Yeah, the guy was hott but I didn't even know him. Saved by Meredith who was calling me over to her, I excused myself from the two men and walked over to her. I didn't need to hear what Meredith said next, because I already had a feeling.

"Um, Jackson Avery cannot stop looking at your ass!"

At least I still got it.

 _I hope you enjoyed! I'm not convinced yet that this will be a big romance piece, but it is Grey's Anatomy and where would we be without it?!_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **AMBER**

Last night was a terrible night. A set of triplets came in, all with multiple messy breaks of different limbs and body parts. At first, I thought it was a car accident…until my intern for the night ask the only girl what happened to her and she responded with, "Mrs. Eerie said that we couldn't have dinner because Matthew pee pee'd in his bed last night. We were all hungry so when she went to her room, we went and ate Trixie's food. She got mad when she saw us."

The intern was a young man who went by the name Chip. He stopped examining her leg and looked up. "Who is Trixie, sweetie?" he asked kindly.

The girl looked into Chip's eyes and said quietly, "Trixie is Miss Eerie's doggy. But don't be mad at Trixie…She is a nice doggy."

Thinking quickly, I asked the little girl if she was still hungry. She nodded eagerly and I promised to bring her and her two brothers some food. The chart said they were four and in the notes section it listed them as Foster Children. I asked Chip to continue with the examine and left the room. Walking out, I grabbed Alex who wanted the information for the case since he would be scrubbing in for any possible surgeries. I pulled him into the nurse's station and told him what the girl had said.

"What? Amber, she's a little kid. Kids fib." Alex looked at me. I saw in his eyes he was seeing me as a little girl who had her fair nights of being hungry.

I immediately made myself taller. "Alex, this kid isn't lying. They've been to two different hospitals in the last year for scrapes and fractures, all that coincide with abuse."

"What do you mean 'they've'?"

"There triplets. Two boys and a girl."

Alex stared at me. With perfect timing, Deluca walked into the nurse's station and told us what one of the little boys had told him. It lined exactly up with the story from the girl. Looking at Alex he nodded and picked up the nurse's phone and paged the chief.

The rest of the night went in a flash of Child Protective Services, Police Officers and an army of nurses and doctors who refused to let the Foster Parent's see the kids. By the end of my shift the kids each had a CPS worker in their room overseeing them and surgeries were planned for the later that day to repair what those evil people did. Alex, Deluca and I all entered the lounge at the same time and sat around a table. Alex staring forward, Deluca with his hands in his hair and me with my head on top of my arms on the table.

"This makes me so sick." I muttered through my arms that were cushioning my head. "People are sick. I've gotta get out of here. You guy's ok?" I stood up and headed towards my cubby. Both of the men muttered that they would see me later and I left, needing to get out of there.

A few minutes later I found myself on the running path of the park a few blocks from the hospital. I had thrown a pair of running clothes and shoes in my bag a few days ago thinking that while Hannah was gone would be the best time to run after work. I just needed to clear my mind. The path was just over a mile and I had just completed my fourth lap. I felt better, like a lot of the anger had left me. I slowed down to a walk and walked a final lap to cool down. I needed to stretch before getting in the car and driving back to the hospital. I moved to the side of the path and started stretching, not paying attention at all. I bent down and grabbed my toes, rocking back and forth to stretch out my back. Not really paying attention and my ass clearly in the air, I heard a voice behind me.

"Wow."

Immediately annoyed and not even looking up I sarcastically snapped, "Yeahhhh, wowww, how amazing is it for a woman to put her ass in the air just for you to admire."

I was immediately confused when I heard a low laugh. His next words made me snap back up straight, which wasn't the smartest thing to do for my back that still needed stretching.

"Well, while your ass in the air is a nice sight on this beautiful morning, I was more referring to the fact that Alex Karev, who we refer to as the dumpster because of everything he eats, has a sister who clearly enjoys a good workout and staying in shape." I was staring at him as he talked. Freaking Jackson Avery.

"I went to Baylor on a Cross Country Scholarship. I love running and uh…" looking at the ground, I finished with, "I had a bad night."

Jackson stepped a few feet closer to me and met my eyes once I looked up. "I heard actually. It's a terrible thing. Do you want to talk about it?"

I gave him a small smile. "That's okay, but thanks. I'm feeling a lot better now. I just needed to clear my head a bit. Alex and I have all three in the OR this afternoon, so I'm going back to the hospital to shower and catch some sleep before then."

"Yeah, that's actually how I know. Bailey wants me in with you guys so that I can help with minimal scarring and for an extra set of hands. I think this case shook every one up, because a lot of us were told to make ourselves available. I wouldn't be surprised if Bailey petitioned for this to be Pro-Bono. It would actually make the hospital look really good."

Starting to stretch my arms out, I nodded. "That would be great. I mean, the kids have no one. It's heartbreaking, really."

"Yeah…Are you sure you're okay?" He wasn't giving me the same look and tone my brother did. He was being kind.

"I'm good. Thanks Jackson. I'll see you later today, ok?" He nodded and smiled walking past me and started to jog. It was true. I did feel better. I finished stretching and walked back to my Audi Q7, feeling refreshed and ready to take on the rest of today.

 **Jackson**

"You guy's ready to do this?" I walked into the scrub room seeing the brother and sister washing for surgery. I noticed that they were laughing together and it made me smile without realizing it. Amber turned the faucet off with her elbow and shook her arms free of the extra water that was stuck to them. She turned around and looked at me and I could have sworn that I saw a smile in her eyes.

"Let's do this, boys!" She said with a hint of teasing in her voice. Alex scoffed and Jackson went over to the sink to begin his scrubbing.

"I heard you two ran into each other this morning after her run." Alex said nonchalantly.

"Yeah…I was surprised to see someone related to you who actually likes a physical workout that's more than just sex." I laughed.

Turning off his faucet, Alex sarcastically ha-ha'd and flipped me off as he walked into the operating room.

The first two surgeries went extremely well. We had scheduled all three surgeries back to back and we were on the last child. I was impressed by Lindsey's surgical skills. I hadn't worked with her yet but I knew after this that I would work with her any time. She was detailed with everything, making sure to speak to the room so that everyone was involved. She asked questions and gave suggestions. Alex and I both didn't have to do much.

The third surgery was proving to be slightly problematic. The young boy had a broken clavicle and both wrists were broken in two places each. The wrists were an easy fix but the clavicle was tricky. All three of us were working hard together to do a quick job with the best route we could find – one that didn't involve having to have multiple surgeries. By the time we were done, we all were exhausted but happy with the outcome.

"I'm spent!" Lindsey groaned stretching her arms above her head. "Thanks for the company and help guys. I'm going to write up these reports and I'm going to pass out in an on-call room for a few hours. I don't think I'm capable of even driving the ten minutes home." She waved at them and walked off to do the reports for the surgeries.

"She was amazing." I said, more to myself then to Alex.

Alex looked over at me knowing that I hadn't really been talking to him. "Don't do it, man. Don't start something just because you can." Clapping me on the back, he walked away.

 _See you Next time!_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **AMBER**

"AHH! Hi Baby girl!" I squeal as Hannah is carried by Lyle the Intern off of the Avery Jet. It's been a long month without her and I'm so excited to have her back. Lyle sets her down and she runs over to me and jumps in my arms. This is the best feeling in the world.

"Mommah, I played with Harriett!" She squealed and wiggled in an attempt to get down. I couldn't believe how better her sentences were forming in just the one month she's been away.

"Whose Harriet, doll face?" I asked her and as she pointed to the airplane. Following the end of her little finger I saw a beautiful redhead carrying a child close to Hannah's age step off of the platform. I watched as Jackson Avery walked forward smiling, taking the child from her arms and leaning forward to kiss the redhead on the cheek. I quickly looked away realizing that I was staring. "Are you ready to go, Hannah? Uncle Alex and Aunt Jo want to meet us for dinner!"

Hannah tore her eyes away from Jackson's family reunion and looked at me. She glanced back at her new friend and before I knew it she was waving frantically. Standing up, I saw the three of them approaching us.

"Hi Hannah!" the redhead said waving back to my daughter.

"Amber, this is my ex-wife April Kepner-Taylor and our daughter Harriett. April, this is our new Head of Ortho at Grey+Sloan Amber Evans." Jackson introduced us and I shook his ex-wife's hand. "This is my week for Harriett and April and her husband work with health care for underprivileged communities within the US. They were in Colorado, so they hitched a ride with Hannah. Thanks for being a good sport, Hannah!"

Hannah grinned at Jackson and attached to my leg. April leaned over, kissing her daughter on the cheek and said bye to the both of us. We all waved as she boarded the plane and I immediately took Hannah's hand to lead her to the car. Unfortunately, she was rooted to the spot looking at Jackson and Harriett.

"Mommy, can Harry and her dad come with us to see Uncle Alex and Aunt Jo?"

 _Oh God…_ I thought. "Honey, I'm sure they have plans, Harriett isn't in town for very long." I shot an apologizing look at Jackson who just smiled at me.

"You know Hannah, I'm very good friends with your Uncle Alex. I think it would be fun for us to all get dinner."

With Jackson's response, my daughter immediately started walking to the car, pleased with herself for getting her new friend to come along for dinner.

 **JO**

I looked down at the message causing my phone to beep. Alex and I had been at the restaurant for a few minutes waiting on Amber and Hannah to get back from the airstrip.

 _Amber: We're on our way, we should be there in less than ten. And there will be two more of us, one adult and one kid. Jackson's daughter and ex wife were travelling here as well and the girls had fun playing. Hannah and her big mouth asked if they would come and Jackson jumped at the idea. Sorry…I didn't really know what to say to Jackson Avery while I was at Avery Airstrip having picked up my daughter who just flew from Denver on the Avery Jet, paid for by the Avery Family._

"We need two more seats. One for an adult and a high chair, please. Thank you." I managed to catch the waitress as she walked by. Alex raised his eyebrows at me and I handed him my phone so he could read it himself. Alex rolled his eyes and handed me back my phone. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't know. Avery has been in a weird spot since Kepner's wedding. It's like he's finally decided that he needs to figure out what he wants in life, which is great. But my sister is here and she's talented and charming….and beautiful. And I've seen him notice it. She's an adult and I have no control over her. I just don't want her to get hurt."

I put my hand on top of my husband's. "You're right. She is talented, charming and beautiful and any guy in Seattle would be lucky to have her. And you're also right, she's an adult. She forgave you relatively easy for your misdoings. Don't ruin this by trying to control her. She's smart. And we talk all the time. I haven't heard her saying anything about him, except for mentioning he was in a surgery with her if someone asked who scrubbed in." Looking up I spotted the four of them coming towards the table. I waved and Hannah grinned running over to me.

"Aunt Jo! My friend Harry came! We rode the plane!" Alex leaned over to kiss his niece on the head who lifted up her arms to show she wanted to sit on his lap. He obliged and I watched the other three sit down across from us. I couldn't help but notice they looked cute together and I couldn't miss Jackson's smile. I decided to just jump into conversation, setting the tone as casual for the dinner.

The group of us ate and laughed, mostly at stories the girls told of their plane ride back to Seattle. Once they were finished, Amber insisted, against Hannah's wishes, that it was time to go home and go to bed. Jackson leaned forward telling Hannah that Harriett would be at daycare tomorrow which made Hannah grin once again. Settling up, Amber bid them all goodnight and left with her daughter.

"Well, I think she had the right idea. Ready to get home, hubby?" All four of them rose from the table and said goodnight, going their own ways.

 **JACKSON**

After putting my daughter down for the night, I retreated to my living room with a beer. I thought I would watch some TV before turning in for the night. Laying back on the couch I stared at the ceiling, letting my thoughts roam free.

 _Amber is beautiful and she's such a great mom. I can't believe I had that much fun tonight._

I knew I was being stupid. After Maggie I swore that I wouldn't date anyone from Grey+Sloan again.

 _Oh my god, Avery. Like she would date you anyways. She's been here a few months and hasn't shown any interest in you since the first night you met at Joe's._

I thought back to that night. Alex had suggested that I go out with them to meet his sister/new doctor. When Alex brought her over to introduce us, I was afraid that my eyes were going to pop out of my head. She was thin, but muscular. Her dark skinny jeans hugged her perfectly and the necklace she wore hung perfected above a yellow tank top that showed off exactly what her scrubs normally hid. Her dark hair was pushed to one side and the way her green eyes sparkled when she smiled almost made me reach out and touch her. I thought I saw an interest in her eyes as well. But she never came back after Mer called her away and she didn't seek me out at the hospital. In fact, when I saw her running at the park, she seemed to wall herself off.

 _She's Karev's sister. I punched him once and I know that he would love to return the favor, despite us being friends. I should just forget about this._

But unfortunately, I already had a feeling that forgetting wouldn't be an easy task.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **JO**

I sat my lunch tray down on the table that AMBER, Meredith and Amelia were already sitting at. "Amber got asked out by one of the reps from the scalpel company." Meredith said looking over at me.

"What! Shut up, are you going?!"

"If we have anything to say about, she is totally going." Amelia stated, grinning slyly.

Amber rolled her eyes and groaned out. "I am not going. I've been working crazy all week and I don't have anyone to watch Hannah. I just need to text him and tell him thanks, but no thanks."

I started in on my chicken wrap. Looking over at Amber, I suddenly had an idea. "Problem solved! Alex is working tonight. Why don't I keep Hannah? We can have a girl's night. Dinner, pedicures, movies. I'll swing by your apartment and grab her stuff and I'll have her here tomorrow morning. I'm in at 9. Just give me her car seat at some point and let the daycare know that I'll be there to pick her up."

Amelia and Meredith both grinned with arms raised their arms in the air in triumph. Amber looked over at her sister-in-law trying to gauge her seriousness. Before she could question me, I answered her inquiring thoughts. "Seriously. I would love to take her for the night. You know she would love it, too and she'll be in great hands. Text scalpel guy and tell him you'll see him tonight."

Amber laughed at the three women around her and shook her head. "Fine. But this is your fault when it goes bad."

 **AMBER**

I ran up to the daycare to let the staff know that Jo would be picking up Hannah. When I hugged her and told her Aunt Jo and she were going to have a slumber party, I knew she'd be fine. Giving her one last kiss goodbye, I ran down the steps to the OR where I was scheduled to scrub in.

Bursting into the scrub room, both Alex and Jackson looked up from washing their hands. "Nice of you to join us." Alex laughed. Annoyed, I settled in on the other side of Jackson and began my scrub routine.

"I had to run up to the daycare. Sorry."

"Yeah, I heard Hannah and Jo are having a girl's night tonight. Jo is really excited."

Laughing, I replied to my brother. "Yeah, Hannah didn't even care she wouldn't see me tonight. I see where I rank now that she has you guys."

"So, what's scalpel guy's name?"

I felt Jackson tense up next to me. Concentrating on my washing I told Alex that his name is Brad and to shut up. Jackson turned off his water and walked into the OR. Alex raised his eyebrows to me and I gave him a confused look. Super odd, but okay.

About an hour into a super awkwardly quiet surgery, Jackson cleared his throat. "So where is your date tonight?"

"I'm not sure…I let him know I could meet him after my shift but he didn't say where we would be going." I replied, surprised.

"Reps make good money. Make him take you somewhere nice." He glanced up from his work at me, piercing me with his brown eyes. I just smiled, not exactly sure what to say about that.

At the end of the five-hour surgery, the three of us stripped off our gowns and went back to wash up. Alex offered to finish the reporting since he would be here tonight and left, leaving just Jackson and myself. "How was your week with Harriett?" I asked. I knew he had her last week, I'd seen her in the daycare.

"It was good. It's crazy how much she grows in the few weeks I don't see her. But I'm sure you feel the same way when Hannah is gone."

"Yeah, I do. She'll be in Denver for a little over two months this next time. Her step mom is a teacher and she has the summers off. I'll miss her like crazy but she'll have fun and they deserve to have her for the summer."

"I hope you have fun on your date tonight." He said quietly, turning off the faucet. Whatever his deal was, it finally hit a nerve with me.

"Yeah? Because the surgeries we've done before now have been enjoyable with conversations and laughing. Alex mentioned me going on a date and perhaps I'm spit balling here, but you seemed to tense up and not want to talk anymore. What gives, Avery?"

As soon as I the last words were out of my mouth, I felt a strong set of arms whip me around and before I knew it, Jackson's lips were crashing into mine. One of my wet soapy hands moved up around his neck while the other ran over his buzz cut head. In one swift move, he picked me up by my ass and turned us around so my back was slammed against the closet. Pulling his head back, I moved down to his neck, trailing my tongue from the lowest part I could reach to his earlobe and the sound of his approval made my insides clench.

"Don't go out with him." He growled into my ear. Gasping at his command, I involuntarily dug my nails into his back so I could move my core closer to him. Groaning against my lips, he set me down and placed both of his hand on either side of my head. Pushing against me he repeated himself in between kissing my neck. "Don't. Go. Out. With. Him." Before I knew it, he was gone and out the door without looking back at me.

 _What the fuck?!_ I thought. Groaning I went back to the sink and rinsed off in the water that was still running from before. After drying off I made sure my scrubs were on straight and I left. _Well…this just got interesting._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **AMBER**

Brad was good looking and he clearly wanted to impress me. We were at some swanky restaurant in downtown Seattle with him ordering bottles of wine that had to be over $200.00 each. Conversation was fine and I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't think about Jackson and me after the awkward surgery this afternoon. I was pretty good at compartmentalizing things but my phone beeped with a message, tearing my gaze away from Brad and his story of the day. Apologizing and explaining I wanted to make sure my sister-in-law was fine, I picked up my phone and slid the lock open and stared at an unknown number.

 _I thought I said to not go out with him?_

How did he get my number? Well, he is head of the board. It's not like he can't get a number if he wants it. Smiling apologetically at Brad, I typed out a message back.

 _I see you stumbled across my phone number. I didn't take you seriously. I know enough to know not to trust a man when his hands are on my ass and his tongue is down my throat._

Setting down my phone, I rerouted my attention to Brad. "So, they wanted you to comp them their entire order because an intern claimed he nicked an artery because of a malfunction with the size of the scalpel? Oh my god." Continuing on with my story, I felt my phone buzz in my lap. A few minutes later, Brad excused himself to the bathroom and I grabbed my phone. Jackson had texted me more than once.

 _Really? That's generally when I'm the most honest._

 _Ditch him._

 _Let me see you tonight._

Fuck. I wanted to see him again. Yeah, Brad was a good package on paper but he didn't do anything for me. I could get out of here. When Brad came back, I put on the most honest sad face I could muster. "I'm so sorry, but my daughter is sick and just wants her mom. I have to go get her. Please, let me pay at least for my portion if not all." Brad looked sad but said he understood. He refused to let me pay and I made a beeline for my car before he could ask if he could see me again.

 _You'd probably shit your pants if I ditched him._

I immediately pulled out of the parking lot, not wanting Brad to see me just sitting there. I headed back to my apartment. If anything, I could at least take a nice bath and get a good night's sleep.

 _What if I was already at your door?_

Well. We'll have to see if he is before I respond.

()()()()()()

I parked in my usual spot and grabbed my purse and duffle bag. I was regretting wearing heels but they went so well with the white dress I decided to wear tonight. I took the elevator to the third floor and when I stopped out, I stopped in my tracks. Jackson was leaning against my door, looking at his phone. He had on black dress pants and a light blue button up that was open a few buttons at the neck. He looked up and met my eyes briefly before trailing his gaze slowly down and back up my body. I could see the hungry look in his eyes and I know that he could see it in my eyes as well.

Walking towards him, I took the keys out of my purse and opened my front door without acknowledging him. I heard the door close behind me as I lifted my feet up to remove the uncomfortable heels. I felt his strong arms wrap around my stomach from behind and his hot breath on my neck. I put a hand on his and guided it to right under my armpit where the zipper was located. I pushed into him arched my back up opening my neck up more to him.

He took the hint and agonizingly slow he unzipped my dress. I tried to control my breathing but it wasn't easy. His touch shot an electric current inside me whenever he touched a new spot. A small part in the back of my mind said that this was a bad idea but I couldn't remember the last time I wanted someone so bad. Once my zipper was completely down, he slid the small straps down, kissing the spots they were resting in until the dress fell to the floor. He turned me around and let his eyes devour me in nothing but the lacy strapless bra and pantie set I was wearing. Biting my bottom lip, our eyes locked and I could tell that the look of that completely set him off.

"You are exquisite." He said, closing the space between us. As our lips met, I took my time unbuttoning the rest of his shirt and slid it off of his shoulders. Letting fall to the floor, I lifted the t-shirt he had on underneath it and felt each one of his abs gently while we continued kissing. I pushed him to the side so his back could rest against the kitchen bar. I started to slowly kiss down his neck, over his pecks all the way to down until my bottom lip felt the fabric of his dress pants. Looking up at him, our eyes locked and I took the time to undo his belt and pull his pants down.

He was impressive. Long and thick, already showing he was excited I was there. Before having a chance to think about it, I closed my mouth around him and lightly sucked back and forth. "Fuuuck…." I heard him breathe above me.

When he grabbed my head and sputtered out that he was about to cum, I tightened my mouth around him and made sure he saw me swallow everything he released.

Before I could stand up, he was lifting me up and carrying me to the bedroom. Before throwing me onto my bed, he unclasped my bra. I fell back and watched him look over me. In one motion, he removed the last article of clothing I had on and his lips went to nipples like they were connected by magnets. Groaning and grasping at his arms, he broke the connection and began trailing kissing down my body. I nearly exploded right then when I felt his tongue on my core. "Ohhh…oh FUCK. Jax…Please don't stop."

He didn't. He used his mouth and fingers in ways I've never felt before. I came twice, back to back, which was also a first. Moving back up my body and kissing my mouth, I rolled us over and took no time in guiding him inside of me. Taking him completely in at once, I moaned as he placed his hands behind his head and looked at me. "Don't stop, Linds. Fuck, don't stop."

I spent a while teasing him, speeding up and slowing town. When I could tell he was close, I leaned down and whispered, "Take me from behind…and make sure you spank me." I didn't think his eyes could get any darker than they already were. He flipped us over and thrusted inside me causing me to scream out. He got two good spanks in before sending me over the edge, with him toppling right behind me.

 **JACKSON**

 _Holy Shit_. I wasn't expecting this. I figured she'd be good in bed but I wasn't sure I would ever have anything more mind blowing than what I just had. Amber had disappeared into the bathroom connected to her bedroom and returned a few minutes later wearing a silk nightie and carrying a wet washcloth and a dry hand towel. She smiled at me and handed me the stuff she was holding acknowledging it was for me to clean up.

She left the bedroom again and came back with two bottles of water. "Look, we don't have to talk about this. Let's just keep it professional. This was amazing, but I don't want people thinking I'm trying to sleep my way to the top."

I looked over at her and nodded. "That's fine. No one would think that, but I understand. Stands with the territory of the last name." I reached down to grab the clothes that had made it to the bedroom. "I'm going to get going. I'll see you at work?"

Not moving from her sitting position on her bed she gave me a small smile and a nod. I stood up and walked out to get my shirts that were taken off there last night and let myself out the door. Leaning back against her closed front door I rubbed y forehead. So much for staying away from a coworker.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **JACKSON**

 _There is no way that I will be able to stay away from her today._ Last night I had gotten Amber's phone number out of her employee file (I was head of the board, so what?) and took a chance at texting her. When she returned my playful banter, I took a chance and showed up at her apartment. I would have been totally fine just hanging out and flirting but when she stepped out of the elevator in a short white summer dress and heels that made her legs look even longer than they were normally, I wasn't. I didn't know what came over me but I couldn't help but hope it happened again.

She said she wanted to keep it professional and she didn't want anyone to think that she was sleeping her way to the top. I get it. But I couldn't help but want to be around her. I felt like there was so much more I wanted to know about her.

Stepping out of the shower and drying myself off, I started getting ready for the day, having a feeling that it was going to be a long day.

 **AMBER**

I just got a text from Jo saying that her and Hannah had a great time last night and that Hannah had been safely deposited in the Hospital's daycare. I had planned to go up and meet them up there but I didn't want to see Jo. We've gotten close in the past few months and I'm afraid she'll be able to tell something happened last night.

I still can't believe it. Jackson may have shown up at my apartment but I initiated the rest of it. I didn't think I could see him. Which was odd considering deep down I kept looking around to see if I could spot him.

"Earth to Evans! Hell-oOOo?" Amelia snapped her fingers in front of my face, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Hey…what's up? Do you want a coffee?" I was standing at one of the coffee carts to get my morning fix when she found me zoning out.

"Uh yeah, a large with sugar please. Well, I need you in Surgery with me at 11. 37-year-old, I need to remove a tumor that grew with such force it cracked the front of her skull. I was hoping you could do the repair once I finished the removal."

"Damn, I've heard about cases like that but I've never been involved in one. I have Bates on my services today, is it cool if she scrubs in with us? I had to cut her loose last week because of a surgery popping up."

"Yeah, Bates is a good intern, she can scrub in. I would have sought you out anyways though. So, how was the date with Brad?" Wiggling her eyebrows at me, I could already tell that she wasn't go to let up.

"He was a perfect gentleman. It was a nice evening."

Amelia immediately saw through my lie. We both grabbed our coffees and paid the man at the cart. "Spill it." She said as we started walking away. I kept my eyes forward and shrugged.

"Nothing to spill."

Of course, at that moment my eyes perked up as I saw Jackson walking out the door. He looked right at me and showed that dazzling smile. I immediately felt shy and gave him a small smile back.

"Amber, Amelia." He said as he passed us, nodding in greeting.

As we walked back into the hospital, I attempted to veer off but Amelia grabbed my arm and practically threw me into an empty storage closet.

"Amber Evans you dirty freaking liar, spill right now about what's going on with you and Avery!"

I stared at her and I knew my face was turning more and more red by the second. "Amelia, don't. Seriously, keep your voice down!" When she didn't say anything but just kept looking at me, I just blurted it all out.

"Look, don't tell anyone ok? It was only a one-time thing. Well, two times I guess. The point is, I don't want this getting out."

"Twice?" She interrupted, her face telling me that I better continue talking and talking fast.

"Okay Okay I had surgery with Alex and him yesterday. Alex mentioned Jo taking Hannah and asked me about my date. Jackson got super weird and after the surgery Alex offered to do the report since he was on call. He left and when Jackson made some snide comment about me having fun on my date I sort of lost it. I asked him what was up and why he wasn't talking and laughing like we normally did in surgery. Before I knew it he was kissing me and telling me not to go on my date. He left pretty quickly after that and I didn't see him again. At the restaurant I got a text from an unknown number and it was him saying he wanted to see him. Fuck Amelia, I don't know what I was thinking but I told Brad that Hannah was sick and I went home. I told him he'd probably crap if I left my date and he said he was he was already at my apartment waiting. I didn't respond and when I got to my front door, he was there. We didn't even greet each other. He followed me in and it was done. Oh my god, I'm such a freaking hooker."

I've never seen Amelia speechless until now. After a few seconds of her mouth hanging open she grinned and said, "oh SHIT! Was it awesome?"

Completely disregarding my previous feelings of wanting no one to know I could feel myself grinning from ear to ear, "It was fucking incredible."

"So, what? Fuck Buddies? On Call Room Partners?"

"No way." I gave her a serious look. "This was a one time thing. We said we'd keep in professional."

"You know Maggie and him were dating up until….Holy Shit, up until you got here. He told her he cared about her but it wasn't anything he saw going long term. He's looking for more than just a booty call."

I stared at her, my turn to be speechless. "I don't know what to say to that. The thing is, we're keeping it professional now. And Promise me that you won't tell anyone."

"Oh, I'm not telling anyone. This is a sweet sweet secret that I'm going to keep to myself. And when it gets out, I can rub it in everyone's face that I knew!"

Rolling my eyes at her, I opened the door and we filed out, laughing at Amelia's crazy way of looking at my situation.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **JACKSON**

"Hey Evans!" I called out. I had seen her through the crowd of people in the lobby. I could tell that she was going running. Her hair was on top of her head in a messy bun and she had on a pair of yoga capris, a tank top and bright pink Nikes. I smiled at the girliness of the outfit. She was super cute in her daily scrubs but she looked drop dead gorgeous right now.

"Hey Avery, what's up?" She had changed directions so that she was walking towards me.

"You going running?" I asked, hoping I had been correct. When she nodded her head yes, I pushed forward before she could dodge out of the conversation. "Mind company?"

Surprise filled her face but luckily, she smiled at me. "Sure, as long as you keep up. I was thinking that I would do 6 miles today before coming back to get Hannah."

"6 miles sound's great. Give me five to change and I'll meet you here. We can drive over together."

I scurried off to the locker room to change before she could refuse.

()()()()()()()()

I've always thought that running with someone is intimate. Matching strides and breathing, while you each did your own thing WAS intimate. Amber and I seemed like we'd been running together our entire lives. At the end of the 6th mile she suggested that we walk another mile lap to cool down. Once our breathing slowed down, I took the chance to start up a conversation.

"So how are you liking it here in Seattle?"

Stretching her arms out in front of her and laughed quietly. "Are you asking as my boss or as…?"

"I'm asking as a friend. Do you?"

She met my gaze but surprisingly didn't look away. "I like it a lot. I love the teaching part of my job and the cases have been unique and challenging. Hannah loves it here and Alex and I have a relationship that I never thought we'd have. I wish that Hannah's Dad didn't live so far away so we could both see her more, but I'm lucky that he is so easy going with everything."

"How did you meet him? Did you guys date for a long time?"

"How long were you and your wife married for?" She shot back, grinning mischievously.

Surprising her, I gave her the short version of April and my rocky relationship. She listened and responded in ways that made me feel like she was truly listening. She smiled when I was finished.

"Well, I'm not going to lie, I didn't expect you to tell me all that but I'm glad that you did. It tells me a lot about you. Hannah's father's name is Cole. We went to high school together and did our residency in Denver. A bunch of us went out to celebrate and one thing led to another. Neither one of us wanted to terminate the pregnancy. We knew we were just friends and we felt like we could do this together. So… we did. He's married now and his wife is amazing. She loves Hannah like she's her own. It's probably the best parental separation situation a child could have."

We had completed the lap and were walking back to the parking lot. Amber got into the passenger's seat of my New Lifted Wrangler Unlimited. I had pulled the doors and the top plates off and I snuck a look over at her as she jumped in and situated herself. She caught my eye and grinned. "Thanks for running with me. You weren't terrible. I'd probably let you come again."

Smiling and Shaking my head I started the engine. She had no idea how much I hoped that was true, in more ways than one.

 **MEREDITH**

"Maggie, get over it. I'm sorry that Jackson dumped you but it was a few months ago. You need to move on." Annoyed at her repetitive narrative about Jackson Avery, I looked over at Amelia for help. Amelia was trying to not make eye contact with me, busying herself with the tea party that Zola was throwing for her and Ellis.

Maggie groaned and fell back on the couch. "I know okay? Okay, but every time I see him at the hospital, it hurts. I feel like I'm not good enough!"

"That's not the case and you know it. You just wanted different things and I think that it was a stand up move for him to not continue to lead you on. And Amelia, why the hell aren't you contributing?"

"HELL!" Ellis Screamed at her me. Sometimes, I forgot that she was still in her repeating everything stage. She was definitely the most vocal and defiant of the three kids. She was definitely an Ellis.

"I'm having a nice tea party with my nieces, butt out." Amelia said, still not looking at me. She knew something and I was going to find out what.

After putting the kids down, I made my way over to Amelia's room. It' s been a lot of people's room over the years and although I'd never admit it, I was glad that Amelia was the occupant now. Knocking quietly so Maggie wouldn't hear, I waited for her okay to come in before opening the door.

I sat down on her bed where she was laying with a book held out in front of her. "What do you know about Jackson that you don't want Maggie to know?"

Concentrating on her book, she didn't answer right away. "Nothing, Mer. Leave it alone. Let her get over it."

"Have you forgotten that you have the same tells that Derek did and I can tell when you're lying?"

Setting her book down and breathing a long sigh out, she finally looked at me. "Look, you cannot tell anyone. Not Maggie, Not Jo and ESPECIALLY NOT ALEX!"

Confused and not understanding I continued looking at her until she went on

"Jackson is interested in Amber."

My eyes completely bugged out of my head. "Seriously?!"

Amelia nodded. "I've seen him around her and I've talked to her. Maggie doesn't need to know. Nothing is going on, but I can't handle her complaining about that now."

"Okay Okay!" I said, letting her know that I wouldn't tell. "And I'm definitely not going to tell Alex. He's going to be livid."

 **AMBER**

I've been feeling pretty crappy lately with Hannah's impending departure weighing on my mind. Jackson running with me felt good. It was nice to have someone there but in their own head. I was surprised he opened up with me about his life, but I definitely appreciated it. Us hooking up could have turned really ugly, but it didn't.

I've always been someone who likes to give gifts. I like to show people that I care or that I'm thankful. I was able to peak at the schedule last night before leaving after our run and I knew he worked this morning. After dropping Hannah off, I headed down to my favorite of the coffee carts and ordered myself one and asked the girl if she knew Dr. Avery's regular. She did so I got one of his and two bananas. After paying I set off inside to find him.

When I found him on the third floor, he was leaning over some charts that were on the counter, fully concentrated. "Hey…" I said, making sure he could hear me walking up behind him. He looked up giving me a puzzled look, which I admit was not exactly what I was hoping to see. "Um…I got you a coffee and a banana. Just to say thanks again for running with me. It was nice."

Jackson looked at the coffee and banana that I had set down on the counter next to his charts and looked back at me. "Thanks! I totally needed this right now." Smiling at him, I touched his arm and turned around. No reason to sit there and make it awkward.

()()()()()()

Hannah leaves tomorrow morning for two months in Denver with her Dad and Allie and I'm super sad. I'll miss her like crazy, but Cole and I arranged a surprise weekend visit for me to come down and that will help the time go quicker.

Today had been super boring. I had a few consults in the OR and a few college football players from the local college who needed their shoulders popped back into place. I had an hour left and then Hannah and I were going to go home and have a picnic on the living room floor and a slumber party with movies and all of her stuffed animals. Generally, I didn't let us do these sort of things, but I was being all mushy today.

I was walking down the hallway, hoping the next hour would fly by when a door I was walking past opened quickly. The person inside grabbed me, yanked me inside and closed the door. I had a glimpse of a storage room before Jackson was pulling my face up to him, kissing me with the same passion he did the day in the scrub room.

Grabbing his back I kissed him back. We had amazing chemistry. I knew from experience that not every man was good at kissing, let alone sex, but he was. I could tell that this time was different from the Scrub room, though. He didn't back me into the door. He didn't make his way down my neck or try to grab my ass. He just kissed me, almost like he was trying to memorize my mouth. After a minute, he broke apart and put his forehead on mine. Breathing heavily with his eyes closed he said, "Thanks for the coffee and banana. It really hit the spot."

Walking out of the storage room without saying anything else, all I could do was stare at the closing door.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Chapters will be in different Characters perspectives. Story takes place after Season 14. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **AMBER**

I couldn't go home to an empty apartment. I had dropped Hannah off this morning and just couldn't go back home. Not even realizing it, I found myself driving to the hospital and finding an on-call room to cry myself to sleep in. I'm not sure how long I was asleep but I distantly heard someone calling my name, then a gentle pat on my arm. Jerking my head up and trying to get my eyes to focus I heard Jackson.

"Are you okay? You're not even scheduled today. Your eyes look like you've been crying?"

Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and yawned. "I'm fine. I dropped Hannah off this morning and I didn't want to go home to an empty apartment. Sorry, I'll go. I shouldn't have been such a girl about it." I went to stand up but Jackson pushed me back to sitting.

"It's fine. You're welcome to crash here any time. I was asking because I was worried, that's all."

Rubbing my hands on my face I groaned out loud. "Ugh, I need to go home anyways. I can't sleep the two months away, so I mise well find something to do. Wait, what are you doing here? Are you just getting off?"

Jackson was in his street clothes which I rarely saw him in at work. "I was just here doing some board paperwork. Wanna get out of here? Have you been out to Pike Place Market?"

"No, but I've been wanting to check it out! Is it awesome?!"

"Totally awesome." He stated. "Come on, let's go." Standing up he held out his hand. Helping me up and opening the door, we walked out discussing who would drive over there.

 **JACKSON**

"OH MY GOD, THEY REALLY DO THROW FISH!" Amber squealed ducking behind me as a fish went flying over us. She was so cute when she got excited and I couldn't ignore the feeling of her hands on my back. They set a shock through me and I loved it.

"So, you use me as a shield?! No way, I'm gonna buy one just so they can throw it at you!"

"DON'T YOU DARE! I hate fish!" She exclaimed, laughing at me. I took the opportunity to pull her from behind me and put my arm over her shoulder. Surprisingly she wrapped her arm around my waist and leaned her head on my arm.

"Well, what kind of seafood do you like then?"

"Crab is definitely my favorite. But I like shrimp and occasionally lobster and crawfish. I've tried fish, but I just never liked it."

Suddenly I had an idea of how I could spend more time with her today. "Let's get some then! We'll do a little seafood bake."

She looked up at me and I realized that her eyes seemed to change colors dependent on the way the light hit them. "Yeah? You wouldn't mind spending your day off with me?" If I wasn't mistaken, I thought her eyes looked hopeful.

"Yeah, I would, so let's go pick out a bunch of stuff. I'll get the seafood, you get the veggies. Meet back here in five?" Amber grinned at me and set off to get her stuff. After five minutes she showed back up with Corn on the Cob, small red potatoes, an onion and a small bag of fresh green beans. Looking through her bag I also saw two bottles of white wine.

"So, where are we doing this bake at?"

I smiled, knowing she would be surprised. "My boat's down at the Marina. We'll take it out and do it there."

 **AMBER**

"This isn't a boat, it's a freaking house!" I say, looking at Jackson and unable to contain my shock. "When did you get this?"

Jackson started to get everything out of our shopping bags. "Actually, I'm blaming your brother. He was making fun of me for inheriting some money from my grandpa. He wanted to know what I'd bought and started spouting off about I should buy a boat. So, I got on my phone and bought it. Not exactly the greatest investment, but I love it so I guess my grandfather left me something worthwhile."

"Hmm." I said, deciding how to take that. I decided to laugh it off and asked what I could do to help.

"Nothing. Sit down and lay back. Enjoy the open waters." I sat down on a curved bench seat and leaned my head back, letting the sun warm it. Before I knew it, there was a glass of white wine set on the small table next to the bench. I sat up and took a sip. It was delicious and Jackson could tell since I unintentionally let out a quiet moan after tasting it. He grinned to himself and focused back on the seafood and the vegetables.

Shortly after he set the Pot to Boiling, he came over and set next to me with the wine bottle and a glass for himself. He topped mine off and poured himself a glance. Silently toasting to me, he took a long drink and put his arm on the bench behind me. "So, while we're sitting here, I was hoping to talk to you about something."

I looked at him questioningly. A part of me wonders what he could want to talk to me about in the middle of a large body of water but I managed to say okay without sounding like a complete nervous wreck.

"I want to take you out. On an actual date."

Coughing on the wine I had just been drinking I managed to sputter out, "What? Why?"

Jackson looked over and laughed. "Because of that! Because you have no idea how amazing you are."

"Contrary to your belief, I know I'm awesome." I winked at him, hoping he picked up on my sarcasm.

He put his glass down and then took mine from me to sit down as well. "You're wicked smart. You're beautiful and caring. And kind. You are an amazing mother. You're funny and down to earth and sexy as hell."

"Jackson, we already had sex…"

"That's not what I'm talking about, Amber. If it was just about that, I would tell you. But I think so much more to you. I want to take you out. I want you to see me. I think you'd like me. Give me a chance?" He looked nervous after he was done. It was cute. He's sitting in front of me, honestly asking me out when all I'm seeing is a guy who could get whatever woman he wanted.

"OK."

"Yeah?" He smiled down at me and pressed a kiss to my temple. "You won't regret it."

I seriously hoped not. Maybe going out with a fellow Head of Department/Head of the Hospital Board/Grandson of THEE Harper Avery was a bad idea but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to say no.

 **ALEX**

Jo has been working nights all week and I've been lonely. I was starting to get seriously grumpy from lack of sex and lack of my wife even being interested when I do see her. I get she's tired but shit! I'm a man.

I haven't seen much of Amber either. Hannah is in Denver for a few months and I knew the first few days were really tough on her but I feel like she's been avoiding me this week. Jo didn't know anything and Mer simply said she thought she was just a single woman without her child finding her way around a new city. But I knew my sister. She used to avoid me whenever she had a new boyfriend.

"What's up, Karev?"

"Wha..? Oh, hey Avery. Sorry. Lack of wife at home has me all out of sorts. What's goin' on?"

Jackson rubbed the back of his neck before looking back at me. "We're all adults here so I wanted to be honest with you. I'm taking Amber out tonight. We've hung out a few times outside of work and I really like her. I just wanted you to hear it from me."

"Yeah, I don't think I heard you correctly. Did you say you're dating my little sister?" I gritted my teeth. I knew she was avoiding me.

"We're not dating. At least not yet. I want to take her on a proper date. I just wanted to be up front with you."

I closed the charts that I had open on the iPad and looked at him. "Remember that time you punched me at Christina and Owen's House Warming Party?"

Jackson nodded, not breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, I suggest you just walk away before I finally repay you for that."


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **ALEX**

The day after Jackson told me he would be taking Amber out, I went to find her before her shift started. "Amber! Wait up!" I finally caught up to her and stopped her from continuing to walk. "How was your date last night?"

I caught a glimpse of the little girl I once knew when she looked at me. "Look Alex…you're my brother and I love you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but I wanted to go out with him with no one giving me any opinions of their own. I've heard enough about Harper Avery's grandson and the Head of Plastics and the Head of the Board. I just wanted to go out with Jackson Avery, the Plastic Surgeon. Will you forgive me for not telling you?"

Surprised I felt my face instantly fall. "Amber…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been upset. Avery told me he was taking you out and I just got a flashback of my teenage sister that all the boys wanted. He's one of the better guys at this hospital. I just don't want you to get hurt. I shouldn't have approached you like this."

Surprising me, Amber launched into my arms, hugging me. I took the chance to whisper to her. "Did you have fun?"

Unclasping her arms from me she stood back and smiled. "I did. He was the perfect gentleman. A part of me hopes he asks me out again. But I have to go…Make sure you FaceTime Hannah soon, ok? She's been asking about you and Jo every time I talk to her." Practically bouncing, I watched my little sister head down the hall.

 **AMELIA**

"Is it your baby?" Teddy showed up a few months ago, pregnant. Owen and I have been ignoring the tension of it but it finally snapped something inside of me. Teddy decided to stick around Seattle and I needed to know if I was going to continue sticking by him.

Rubbing his forehead, he finally looked at me. "I think so. I mean, yes. It wasn't on purpose, but I want to be there for my child."

Before my eyes could fill with tears I looked him straight in his eye and said, "Of course you should be Owen. But I need to be away from you."

I walked away and found the nearest on-call room. Before the door shut I started sobbing. I didn't even see Meredith in there. She immediately sat up confused, having been asleep before I barged in. "Amelia, what is wrong?"

"It's…it's his baby. It's Owen's baby and he should be with Teddy and the baby." Meredith stood up and guided me down to a bed. Laying down next to me, she simply just held me while I cried it all out. She may have just been my brother's wife, but she was the best out of all of my sisters, including the ones I shared blood with.

 **AMBER**

I wasn't lying to my brother when I told him that Jackson was a perfect gentleman. He picked me up from my apartment, took me to some Private Restaurant that I had never heard of and when he walked me back up to my door, I asked if he wanted to come in for a drink. He took my face in his hand and gave me a total PG kiss then said that he wanted to, but he wanted to be a gentleman. He left and I fell asleep with a smile on my face. I also fell asleep on the couch and woke up with a huge kink in my neck.

I was standing in front of the OR Board rubbing my sore neck, examining it for the first time when I felt a light hand on my lower back. Jackson brushed against my ear asking me how I was doing.

"I'm good. I fell asleep watching The Bachelor on my couch and I have a terrible kink in my neck and there isn't a whole lot going on here today, but I had a date with the perfect gentleman last night so that's got me feeling pretty good."

"How Ironic…" he said, taking in the board as well. "I also had a date with a total smoke show. I was determined to be a gentleman but as soon as I got back in my car after turning down her invitation to go in her apartment I regretted being a nice guy."

Laughing and shaking my head at him, I felt my neck pull and let out a loud "OUCH!"

"Sorry…my neck is really hurting me. I need to stretch it out. I'll see you later, ok?" Smiling at him, I walked away, looking for my intern for the day so we could start post-ops.

About 25 minutes after setting my intern lose on Post-Ops I got a page to head to a room on the 5th floor. I walked into an empty exam room and in a confused tone called out, "Hello? This is Dr. Evans. I was paged up here?"

The door closed behind me causing me to whip around and grab my neck again in pain. Jackson was looking at me and smiling. "What are you doing? You scared the hell out of me!" I watched him lock the door and moved forward holding his hand out. He led me to the far side of the room where a low sitting exam table was.

"Lay down on your back. I'm gonna help your neck."

I scrunched my face up at him in confusion and he laughed, moving me over and lowering me down. I laid down and stilled, not knowing what his plan was. He started stretching my neck out. Towards him, towards my chest, to each side. It felt so good, I literally didn't care about anything else right there.

"Take a deep breath in, ok?"

I nodded my head and took a deep breath in. As soon as I exhaled I felt my neck snap to the left side and heard multiple loud popping sounds. Breathing heavy, I felt all of the blood rush back into my face.

"Can I do the other side?" He asked, making eye contact with me. I nodded and breathed in and felt the same sensation on my right side. He started massaging the muscles on my neck that were so sore and I settled in to the table and made an effort to regulate my breathing. Above me, Jackson started explaining. "I used to want to be a chiropractor. You looked like you were in a lot of pain so I wanted to help."

Eyes still closed, I smiled. "Thank you. This feels amazing." A few minutes later, I reached up and stopped his hands from massaging my neck. "Kiss me, Jackson."

Smiling and leaning down to meet my lips, both of our pagers started going off with the tone that was only paged in dire need. We both grabbed at ours, checking the read out and looking at each other. "All Hand's on Deck? Shit." Both of us rushed out of the room, brought back to reality and in the back of our minds knowing that the page we received meant somebody else's reality had come crashing down.

 **BAILEY**

"PEOPLE, PEOPLE - SETTLE DOWN! I NEED IT QUIET IN HERE!" I stood on top of a chair in one of the larger conference rooms where all of my Head of Departments, Fellows, Residents and Interns who weren't tied up in Surgery or with Patients had reported to. "There has been a major accident downtown. A tour bus of senior citizens and a school bus of high school seniors going on a college visit day collided after a motorcycle veered between them and crossed in front of one before smashing into a parked cab. There are multiple injuries and with us being the best Trauma Center in the area, they are looking to come here. We don't have enough ambulances to get everyone here. Deluca, Pierce, Karev, Webber, Wilson and myself are going out in the field with all the interns we can spare. Pierce, seeing as Teddy Altman is in her second trimester, she'll stay here in case anyone needs surgery. Karev, you'll come back if something pops up that only you can do, but seeing the age of these patients, we think you'd be better in the field. Avery, Grey and Evans; hang out in the ER with Hunt. When this starts coming in, it won't be stopping for a good amount of time. I hope you all ate your Wheaties this morning. Those of you who are going out in the field, meet me in the Ambo Lane in 5. Make sure that all of your packs are overstocked with the good stuff. Break."

My staff might be a black hole of drama, but they were also some of the best surgeons I had ever met. As soon as I dismissed them, Deluca and Wilson rushed forward to explain to the interns what they would need and where to get it. Karev, Pierce and Webber all approached me.

"How bad, Bailey?" Richard said to me in his no nonsense tone.

Looking at all of them, I said exactly what I knew at that moment. "It's bad. I don't know any specifics but the dispatcher said it was the worst situation he's seen. And he was the same dispatcher as the Ferry Boat Accident 14 years ago."

 **MAGGIE**

"Ok guys, listen up!" We were all waiting for the hospital van to be brought around by Webber so we could get to the accident downtown. "We'll need to devise a system. Putting patients into categories is the easiest way. Category 1 is anything you can treat from the scene. Cuts, bruises, even minor stitching. Category 2 is anything that SHOULD be checked out at the hospital but ISN'T life threatening. Breaks, Fractures, shock. Category 3 is anything that will definitely need surgery but ISN'T a dire need. Category 4 is anyone who needs surgery immediately or they die. We'll set up an area for any of the people who didn't make it will be sat and can be identified by Family Members." Taking a breath, I looked over at Alex so he knew he could take over.

"Look guys, this is going to be rough. You need to remain calm. You are DOCTORS. This is what you've been studying and practicing for. If you aren't sure, find one of us, it's better safe than sorry. We all believe in you, so don't FUCK IT UP!"

Hitting Alex in the arm, I assured that he wasn't serious and luckily it got a laugh out of everyone. I saw the van coming toward us and picked up my bag. "Let's do this!"

 **JO**

This was bad. Like, really bad. It was complete chaos between the injured, the family and friends of the inured and the onlookers. I saw Bailey's husband Ben with the Seattle FD extracting teenagers from the school bus. The Jaws of Life were there and the kids inside were still screaming. I immediately tore my eyes away. I needed to help, not stare.

I grabbed a few interns and Deluca and headed over to where the people from the bus were being kept. Reminding them all of the Categories, we all set out to work. The first 4 people needed surgery, I wasn't sure how they were even out of the bus. The interns were all pulling their weight, asking questions when needed and were actually making me proud. Finishing a quick exam on an older gentleman, I heard rustling behind me. Turning around, I swear I heard something. Walking towards a large bush, I started looking around to see what I thought I had heard.

"Pl…Please. Help"

I took off towards the bush, yelling for Deluca to come help me. A young girl was trapped inside the bushes. She was covered almost completely with blood and it looked like she had been flattened out.

"Ma'am?" Deluca said loudly, "My name is Dr. Deluca and this is Dr. Wilson. Can you tell us what happened? Where are you hurt? We need to know how to help you."

I started making my way towards her but Deluca grabbed me. "You can't go over until we observe it. We don't want to do anything that will hurt her more." I nodded my head and asked the girl again what had happened to her.

"He…he wouldn't stop. He said it wouldn't be fun unless it was a little dangerous. He…He…I landed here. Please help me…Everything hurts." I could hear the fear and pain in her voice. I shook Deluca off of me and moved forward.

"What's your name? We're gonna help you."

"Sarah…Sarah Tuler."

"Ok Sarah. Dr. Deluca and I are going to get you out of here and we're going to get you to the Hospital. You're going to be okay." Refusing to meet Deluca's eyes, I darted forward and starting cutting off branches to get to her. I had to save her.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Author's Note:**_ _This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!_

 **AMBER**

I settled back in my seat. The Bus/Motorcycle pile up happened on Tuesday. It was Monday and I was heading back to Seattle from Denver. I had moved up the surprise weekend on Thursday. It was a rough few days and I needed to get out.

The young girl who was riding on the back of the motorcycle came in with Jo & Deluca. The only reason she was alive was by the Grace of God. Meredith, Jackson and I all set to work on her. There were more broken bones than were not, multiple organs were bruised and lacerated and pretty much her entire body was one big case of road burn. Jo insisted on scrubbing in. She was too involved, you could see it right from the beginning. This was personal for her and I wasn't sure why. After the grueling surgery, the patient was wheeled off to the Plastic Ward for beginning treatment of her burns and Jo followed her there. Meredith and I went to the lounge where she filled me in on Jo's past. She must have been triggered by the girl's story. I had only heard bits of it but it sounded like the guy had forced her to ride along with him despite her pleading him to not be dangerous.

I was asleep in the on-call room when Jo came in and pulled me off the bed to the floor. She was screaming at me and hitting the wall next to where I landed. Deluca raced in and pulled her back and all I could hear was, "ALL YOUR FAULT!" When Deluca got her out of there, Meredith rushed in. We had lost the patient, her heart which was strong during the surgery, had went into arrest.

"It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault but the driver of the motorcycle."

I was stunned. Yeah, I hadn't known Jo for that long but she definitely had never reacted like this before. Alex found me an hour later and told both Meredith and I that he had let one of the interns take her home and he'd be joining her after he finished his last surgery of the day. He apologized and hugged me, insisting just like Meredith that it wasn't anyone's fault, especially mine. He said that there were still triggers with Jo and that she would need the night to cool off. He promised she would apologize but I waved him off.

I called Cole after he left and told him about everything. I just needed to talk to someone outside of Grey+Sloan and I wanted to hear about Hannah. He suggested I move my surprise trip up and go to Denver that weekend. Without thinking, I did.

Jo had called me a few times while I was gone and when I was able to call her back it broke my heart to hear her in pain. She apologized and I assured her it was fine. It was… we all had cases that got to us. We were family and I can take her being upset with me, but I was glad she was okay with me. She offered to pick me up from the airport but I declined telling her I had driven. I didn't, but I didn't want a pity ride. A taxi would be just fine.

Once the plane landed, I was super happy I didn't have to wait for luggage since I had just taken a carry on. I headed out to the arrivals area so that I could hale a taxi. As soon as I stepped to the curb a black Mercedes pulled up. The driver opened the door and I couldn't help but smile. It was Jackson.

"Hey! Who are you here picking up?"

Jackson made his way around the car and took my bag. "You. Karev told me what flight you were on and that you told Jo you had a car here but, you had already told him you didn't. So, I'm here to take you home." Opening the passenger door, he guided me into the car and closed the door.

"Jackson…this was so sweet. Thank you." Jackson looked at me and took my hand, kissing the top of it. Letting go and putting the car in drive, we set out to my apartment. Conversation with Jackson was easy. He asked about my trip and about Hannah. I excitedly told him all about both and before I knew it we were in the parking lot of my place. "I'm sure you have plans, but if you don't you could come up and I could order us some Thai. I'm starving but I really want to change into something comfy."

"I'll say yes on one condition."

Confused, I raised my eyebrows at him. "O…. kay?"

"You pick a movie for us to watch while we're eating."

"Deal!"

()()()()()

I ordered entirely too much food and then joined Jackson on the couch. I started flipping through channels when I could feel him looking at me. Turning towards him I saw a serious look on his face, instead of the playful one that I was anticipating.

Taking the remote out of my hand, he turned himself to face me. "Look, Amber. I missed you while you were gone."

Surprised but pleased, I smiled and told him I had missed him too.

"I did want to talk to you though." And before I could interrupt him, he continued on. "I like you. I didn't plan on it. At first, I noticed how gorgeous you were but then we worked some cases together and I discovered that you are kind and caring and extremely intelligent. You're an amazing mother. There is so much more that I can't fit in between now and the time that the food is delivered. But I would if you wanted me to." Laughing a little, he took my hands in his. "I would like to see where this goes. If you would."

He looked so sincere. I wasn't lying, I had missed him. And I was having a great time getting to know him. I hadn't exclusively dated anyone since before Hannah was born. "I like you too and I'm serious when I say I missed you this weekend too. It's been so much fun getting to know you. I would like to see where this goes as well, but I do want to get a few things out on the table." He showed off that dazzling smile and nodded at me to continue. "One, I will not let this to affect my responsibilities as a mother or for you as a father. Two, if we try this, we need to be exclusive. I don't do the whole 'jealous, crazy, sharing with nasty women' thing. And three, we take this slow. Well not slow, but maybe not jumping into bed right away even though we already did." I could feel my cheeks flush as I thought back to that night.

"I agree. Nothing is to get in the way of either one of our children. I would only want to be exclusive, but I wouldn't want to keep it a secret. And we can go as slow as you want. Even though I'll be tempted."

I leaned forward and kissed him. "We can totally make out during the movie if you want."

Laughing, and pulling me against him, I settled in to him feeling more comfortable than I had in a long time.

 **MAGGIE**

I definitely didn't hear the interns correctly. There was no way. Before I could change my mind, I turned around and marched up to them. "What did you say about Dr. Avery?"

One of the guys looked around and then looked at me. "Him and Dr. Evans are dating. Can you believe it? She's gorgeous and an amazing Surgeon and he's a freaking Avery!"

They must have seen the look on my face because before I could tell them to get back to work, they were all scattering in different directions away from me. I wanted to talk to Jo. Or Meredith. Someone who would tell me what was going on.

I found both of them together, discussing their trial. "I just heard the weirdest thing from some of the interns."

Meredith and Jo looked at each other guiltily. "Oh yeah? What was that?" Jo asked, in a much higher tone than normal.

"Jackson and Evans are dating. Did you know?"

Meredith closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I knew he was interested in her. And I – "

"I found out they were dating a few days ago and told her. We didn't know what to tell you. We were sort of hoping you were over it by now. It's been almost 6 months, Maggie." Jo looked at me, a look of pity in her eyes.

"YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO ME WHINE! I CAN HANDLE HE'S DATING SOME ORTHO SKANK, I CAN'T HANDLE YOU KEEPING THINGS FROM ME!" Okay…that may have come out a little harsher than I intended. Jo was instantly pissed and Meredith's mouth was hanging open.

"Maggie, I love you but don't…you…EVER…speak about my sister-in-law like that. She's family and it's not her fault that Jackson wants to be with her. If you wouldn't have been so pathetic and miserable since she's been here, you'd realize that she's a pretty great person."

Turning around, Jo walked away from me and after a minute Meredith followed her. Lovely.

 **JACKSON**

I woke up on cloud nine today. I was at Amber's until about 10PM last night. She was falling asleep, laying on top of me while I finished watching the baseball game that was on. We've been spending as much time together that we could. I would have stayed there all night but I wanted to respect her wishes to go slow.

She was working a double today and I had a single followed by an on-call shift. I had texted her this morning promising to bring her coffee. On my way to find her, I overheard Maggie talking to Jo and Meredith. She clearly had heard about Amber and I and saying I was pissed by her 'Ortho Skank' comment was a seriously understatement.

"Are you freaking kidding me, Maggie?" My tone was short and clipped and she looked surprised that I was standing behind her. "You don't even know her and you have NO RIGHT to talk about her at all. Or me. So, make sure you don't. Ever Again."

()()()()()()()

"You better tell her about Maggie's little explosion." Alex said before taking a huge bite out of his hamburger. "She'll find out either way, but it would be better to tell her that you already told her off."

Before I could answer, I caught the familiar scent of Amber's perfume and felt a light peck on my cheek. "Boyfriend…Brother. Today is a day of firsts. I had an old guy ask if I could give him his last dying wish…. on my knees and I was referred to as an 'Ortho Skank'. Pretty good day if you ask me." She was grinning at both of us, clear that it didn't bother her.

"Maggie is just jealous, don't listen to her." Alex answered before I could say anything. "And your boy over here told her what was up. She'll get over it. And if not, you could take her."

"Wait, what did you do?" Amber focused her eyes on me.

"I just told her to get over herself and never talk about you again. I heard Jo said the same thing. But forget her…. what was the old dude dying from in order to request such a lovely parting gift?"

Cracking up with laughter, she tried to catch her breath to answer me. "Yeah, he wasn't dying. He had poison ivy."

()()()()()()()

"Hey Avery! Can I get a consult really quick?" Amber was a few rooms down from the room I had just exited. I nodded and followed her, to my surprise, right into an on-call room. Once we were in there, she started slowly walking towards me.

"A consult, huh? What should I be consulting?"

Standing so close to me that we were slightly touching, she looked up at me. Releasing her bottom lip that she was biting she started speaking in a low voice. "Thank you for sticking up for me today. It was very thoughtful of you. And very…very…sexy." Saying each word in a staccato. "I thought if you had a little time to spare I could show you how sexy I thought it was?"

Reaching behind me to lock the door, I pulled her towards me laughing. My girl was amazing.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!

 **JO**

"Are you sure?" Alex looked at me dumbfounded. I couldn't help but grin at him. He was going to be an amazing dad.

"I'm positive – positively pregnant." Alex lifted me up and spun me around. "Be careful, babe! I'm still really nauseous." I couldn't help but laugh. We decided to just let whatever happens, happen but I was surprised it happened so soon. Maybe it was spending so much time with Hannah but we both couldn't wait to have one of our own.

Alex put me down and kissed me. "Let's make an appointment ASAP. I can't wait to see our little baby." I knew he was serious and I was so happy.

 **AMBER**

Hannah flew back in last night and I was so happy she was home. Even though the last few months with Jackson had been wonderful, I was ready for her to be back with me. Cole called when she was all loaded on the plane with Bates and Lyle and I told him about Jackson and that I wanted to tell Hannah about him. Cole was understanding, just as I knew he would be. He wanted me to find someone and he even said he was glad it was with someone who had a kid the same age. He was convinced that a father would never let a mother disregard her child, even though he knew I never would do that.

Hannah's third birthday was in a week and despite just seeing her, Cole and Allie were flying up for her party. Cole asked to meet Jackson and I agreed, believing he should know the man that the mother of his child was falling for. And I was falling hard. Jackson even had Harriett for the party and Hannah was so excited to see her friend for it. They actually devised an idea at daycare this week that they should have a slumber party after the party. Jackson and I talked about it and he said he thought that would be fun but he wanted to check it with April first. He texted me a few days later saying that April thought it was a great idea and that she had said she was happy for us. Then he suggested that he stay too. I found out later that April had actually put that idea in his head and I couldn't help but like her even more.

The issue was, I hadn't told Hannah yet. Her party was in a few days so I figured I needed to do it ASAP. I took her sippy cup into her room knowing she'd be awake soon. Rubbing her back and lightly singing her voice she rolled over and smiled at me. "Hi mommy!"

"Hi sweetheart. I'm so happy your home. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute before we get ready to go to daycare." She looked up at me expectantly. "Do you remember Harriett's Daddy?"

"Dr. J?" She questioned, looking confused.

"Yes. His name is Jackson. Mommy and he have been seeing each other. I really like him, doll face. He's very nice. Is that ok?" Hannah rose from her sleeping position and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Mommy, be happy!" She whispered, before pulling back and blowing a raspberry right on my cheek. Immediately launching into a tickle attack, I couldn't help but think how awesome my kid was.

 **JACKSON**

April was super supportive of Amber and I, after she got over the fact that I was falling for a sibling of Alex Karev's. It was sort of surreal for her and me to be on such great terms discussing each other's relationships but it was nice. I had Harriett with me and we were making our way up to the daycare when I saw Amber carrying Hannah.

"Hey! Hi Harriett!" Amber said, putting Hannah down. Harriett smiled and waved at her, still clutching my hand. As soon as the girls saw each other though, they were off and running into the daycare room. I leaned in and kissed Amber. Even in her scrubs with her hair in a messy bun and her glasses on, she looked absolutely gorgeous.

"I missed you last night. How was Hannah's first night back?"

"It was great! She was super tired. But…I did tell her that you were my special friend." She was blushing slightly and avoiding my eyes but I pulled her into me and told her she was amazing. We walked into the daycare together to finish checking in the girls and then we both walked down to the meeting scheduled for the head of departments.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

This week has flown by. Before I knew it, it was Saturday and Harriett and I were heading to the local Kid Zone to help Amber get ready for the party. Our bags were packed for our slumber party and Harriett was babbling nonstop about the party on our way there.

When we walked in, we immediately saw the area where the party would be set up. Amber and a pretty brunette who looked a few months pregnant were laughing while setting the tables. We made our way over there but stopped when I heard someone run up behind us. "DR. J!"

We turned around and I bent low so I could be closer to her size. "Hey there, birthday girl! Are you excited for your party?" She giggled yes and took off towards the party area with Harriett right behind her. I stood up looking after them when I heard someone clearing their voice behind me. I turned around and saw a guy similar to my size walking close to me.

"You must be Jackson. I'm Cole, Hannah's dad. My wife Allie and I flew in for the party. Its nice to finally meet you." Reaching his hand out, I shook it. Amber had mentioned that they were trying to make it but I hadn't heard anything definite.

"Hey, good to meet you! I'm glad you were able to make it."

Smiling at me, he patted me on the back. "Let's go help our ladies get this show on the road."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

A few hours later Kid Zone was packed with so many of my friend's kids. Presents were everywhere, kids were laughing and the parents were enjoying hanging out with each other. I couldn't keep my eyes off of Amber. She was the perfect host. She was making sure the food was constantly filled and that people had drinks. The kids had plenty of tokens and when it came time to cut the cake, there weren't any kids crying that they didn't get the exact piece they wanted. I helped where I could, but I knew she wanted to do as much as she could on her own. I was so happy just being around her. I was sitting at a table with Alex, Bailey's Husband Ben and Cole. Cole and Alex were both leery of each other at first but quickly fell into a nice rhythm of jokes and conversation. We were all sharing OR stories and it was my turn but I was distracted looking at Amber.

"EARTH TO AVERY!" Ben sang out, laughing at me.

"Stop eye banging my little sister, dude." Alex rolled her eyes.

"Is now a good time to tell you that if you hurt her, I'll break your hands so that you will never run an OR again?" Cole deadpanned, followed by a smirk.

"Shut up. She's incredible, I can't help it."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The party was a smashing success and the slumber party afterward was fun, too. I somehow was talked into letting Hannah and Harriett put makeup on me. We made caramel apple nachos and we all settled in to watch the newest Incredibles movie. The girls fell asleep and we carried them into Hannah's room, placing them on their beds. Thankful that Amber had suggested to bring one so she'd be comfier, I kissed Harriett goodnight and we both snuck out of the room.

"I think they're down for the count." Amber said laughing as she started cleaning up. She took the dishes into the kitchen and started filling up the sink to wash them. I walked up behind her and turning her around, I put my arms on the counter trapping her between me and it.

"You are an amazing mom. Today was great. Thank you for letting Harriett and I be a part of it."

She smiled at me and I swore I saw something different in her eyes. Before I could stop myself, I had my head against her forehead and was saying the words I had been thinking for the past few weeks. "Amber…I think I'm falling in love with you."


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note:** This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Please don't comment saying that the behavior of the characters in this story don't line up with the show – It's a work of opinion and fiction. Read, Review and Enjoy!

 **JO**

"Jesus, Jo – what the hell?" Amber stumbled into the lounge, after I grabbed her from the nurse's station and practically threw her in there. Meredith was already in there, meaning she had gotten my page.

"What's going on? Why did you page me 9-1-1?" Meredith and Amber were both looking at me expectantly, both of them looking slightly annoyed at my behavior.

"I'M PREGNANT!" I started giggling, still finding it so weird to hear myself say that. Then I saw the look on my friends faces and started laughing even harder. Pretty soon I was doubled over, with tears in my eyes.

Laughing along with me, Amber grabbed me. "Seriously?! Jo, that is amazing! You guys are going to be great! How far along are you?" Meredith didn't say anything, she just hugged me tightly, dancing around a bit as she did.

"We have an appointment next week. I obviously don't want anyone knowing yet, but I wanted you both to know. We decided to just let it happen and I'm surprised it happened so soon, but I already love this kid so much. And Alex is so excited."

Meredith and Amber looked at each other and Jo knew they were both thinking of how much they loved their kids. She loved their kids as well and couldn't believe how much she already loved her own. The three women all hugged, all knowing that their lives would change in the upcoming months and all were extremely excited about it.

 **JACKSON**

"I love you." I felt a tickle of a breath on my ear and smiled. Hearing Amber say those three words to me would never get old. "I have a few consults to do and a meeting with Bailey for my 6-month review. You look exhausted. Go to the on-call room on 4 and I'll find you when I'm done. We can cuddle for a bit before my afternoon surgeries start." I quickly kissed her to show that I thought it was a great idea and watched her walk away. I was exhausted. Between the busy weekend with Harriett and Hannah's party, flying Harriett back to April on Monday and a double that ended a few minutes ago, I was starting to barely function. I made my way to the 4th floor on-call room and laid down on a bottom bunk. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

I'm not sure how long I was asleep for, but I distantly felt someone crawl in next to me. Smiling, I wrapped my arms around her. "Hey beautiful. How was your meeting?"

Not answering, I felt her maneuver herself so she was on top of me and leaned down and started kissing my neck. My eyes suddenly popped open, realizing that this couldn't be Amber. This wasn't her smell, the wasn't her way of initiating something with me. This wasn't Amber. Trying to focus my eyes, I started pushing the person off who was on top of me. I got a glimpse of dark hair and got immediately pissed.

"Maggie, what the fuck are you doing?"

Before I could push her completely off of me, the door swung open and Amber walked in. Before I could say anything, she had walked back out. Scrambling up and putting my shoes on, I looked at Maggie who looked rather pleased with herself. "Do you really think I would want ANYTHING to do with you anymore, when I have her? Even if I didn't have her, we would be nothing. We don't have a future and I sure as FUCK don't want one with you. Stay away from me. I'll make sure Bailey hears about this."

Running out the door I didn't even hear what she was saying behind me.

 **ALEX**

Seeing Red. That's all I could see right now. "I'll kill him." I told Amber, who was sitting in a conference room completely broken. I had never seen her cry over a boy before and I was glad. This was one of the worst things I've ever seen. She had found me a few minutes ago coming out of a surgery and she didn't even have to say anything for me to know something was wrong. As soon as we got into the conference room, she was hugging me, bawling and completely inaudible with her explanation.

As soon as I sat her down she tried to calm herself enough to tell me what she walked in on. Her crying and begging me to not leave her was the only thing that kept me from going and ripping Avery into a million pieces in the hospital that he partly owned.

"He…h-h-he said he was in l-l-love with me." She had started to hiccup now and her face had red streaks down it. The door opened and Meredith walked in and took Amber in her arms.

"Amber, listen to me. This was Maggie's doing. Jackson was pushing her off of him, he was completely asleep when she went in there and he assumed it was you."

"What?" I said, knowing that my tone sounded completely skeptical.

Meredith looked over at me. "Alex, seriously. Jackson about ran me over running out of that room and told me a five second explanation of what he was running for. I went right into the room and cornered Maggie. She tried to say he still had feelings for her and she knew it but she eventually broke down and told me she thought if she could get him to cheat on you he would realize he still wanted her. Amber, he is losing his mind right now. He already went to Bailey and made a formal complaint. He loves you. He hasn't been lying. And you love him. Don't let some misunderstanding get in the way of that. You need to take every day you have together and cherish it. Trust me, I know." Meredith hugged her one last time and got up and walked towards me. "Seriously, Alex. Don't get involved in this, it truly isn't what it looks like. Now come on, I told Jackson he could come in and talk to her."

I looked at Amber who still looked so diminished. "Are you okay with seeing him?" She nodded but didn't say anything. I walked over and kissed her head. "I love you, little sis. I'll be right here if you need me."

Meredith and I walked out of the room and I saw Jackson sitting on the floor against the wall across from the door. His head was between his knees and his hands were balled into fists on top of his head. I couldn't even see his face, but I could tell he was just as broken as Amber was.

"She agreed to talk to you. This was really all Pierce?" I asked him.

Jackson lifted his head up and scrambled to his feet. "I'm in love with her, Karev. I was sleeping and as soon as I realized it was her I was pushing her off of me and that's when Amber walked in. Maggie was actually smiling at her! I could have punched a hole through the wall. I already did a formal complaint with Bailey. I feel miserable knowing how it must have looked."

I nodded. I've known Avery for a long time, through a lot of women and he was different right now. "Go. Let me know how it goes." Jackson practically ran into the room and I looked at Meredith. "What is Pierce's deal?"

Mer shook her head. "I have no idea. Something is going on."

 **AMBER**

I remembered now why I didn't do relationships. I wanted to walk into that room and punch the both of them, but instead I walked out and found Alex. Then I let all of my emotions come out. I had let him into my life. Hannah's life. I had let him in to – no, given him my heart. How could I have been so stupid?

Meredith wouldn't lie to me. Even though Maggie was her sister, she in no way would lie about something like this. Her tone said that she was as upset with Maggie as I was with Jackson. And she definitely wouldn't lie to Alex.

I heard the door open and I could feel his presence, but I couldn't look at him. He came directly over to me and pulled my chair out so he could be on his knees in front of me.

"Please Amber, please look at me. I am so sorry. It wasn't what it looked like but that's not what's important. What's important is that you're hurting because of me. Please, I will do anything to fix this."

I still couldn't look at him. "Why does she hate me? She must hate me if she continues to talk bad about me and to throw herself at you."

Jackson set his hands on my knees. "Please…please look at me. I love you, I can't make these feelings up. She caught me completely off guard. I shouldn't have assumed it was you, I should have woken up instead of just continuing to sleep. I turned her into Bailey, she was completely inappropriate. What she did was disrespectful and wrong. Please don't end this. Please."

I finally looked at him. I was surprised he said that. His eyes were bloodshot. I reached out and took his face in my hands. "This isn't ending. I l-l-love y-y-you," My eyes started to fill up and he put his hands over mine so that he could kiss mine. "I just…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have walked away, I should have asked what was going on."

"No, no, babe…no. You didn't do anything wrong." Jackson sat up and held my face close to his. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but I can't lose you."

Touching our foreheads together, I let out the rest of my tears with him holding me, whispering everything I could want him to say.

()()()()()()()()()

I asked Jackson to pick Hannah up from daycare and take her to home. I told him I had to finish a few intern review papers and I would pick up food and we could have an easy night. He asked if he could stay over and I agreed because I wanted to be close to him after everything today.

I lied. I already had all the intern paperwork in.

"Hey Pierce!" Maggie turned around in the parking lot, looking to see who called her name. When she saw it was me, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. By the time she turned around, I was right beside her. "Let's chat."

"I have nothing to say to you."

"Good. Because I don't give a single shit about anything you have to say." Making sure to not touch her at all, I got as close to her as I could. "I don't know what your problem is. My brother and sister-in-law seem to like you, so I tried to like you. Your sister is becoming a good friend of mine, so I tried to like you. I was told all about you; super young head of department, graduated early, Richard Webber and Ellis Grey's long-lost child. I didn't think there was any way that I wouldn't like you. You never gave me a chance, but that's on you."

I took a deep breath before continuing, "I'm not going to tell you to stay away from Jackson, it's obvious you can't do that. I'm not going to tell you to stop being a bitch to me, it's clear you can't do that either. I'm going to tell you this; I'm sorry you and Jackson didn't work out. I'm sorry that you seem to think it was because of me. But I'm not sorry that I love him and I'm not sorry that he loves me. Anything that you think you can do to stop that, won't work. Go ahead and try."

Before she could respond, I turned and walked away. Getting into my car I breathed out a sigh of relief and started towards my beautiful baby girl and my handsome man.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note:** This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!

 **BAILEY**

My office door slammed as Maggie Pierce walked out of it. I suspended her for a week following the formal complaint from Avery. I know that people here have drama and everyone seems to sleep with everyone, but whenever a complaint is put in, I make sure to investigate it. I spoke to Avery, Evans, Karev, Grey and Richard. The first four gave me the same recollections and Richard agreed that she should be suspended. We had Teddy to handle the department.

She fought me on my decision. She insisted that it wasn't a big deal, a total misunderstanding according to her. Hopefully this week off will help her get her priorities in order. She is an outstanding surgeon but I can't lose Jackson Avery or Amber Evans. It would cause a ripple effect with my entire staff and I wouldn't do that. Hiring Amber was one of the best staffing decisions we've made in the last few years.

I took my phone out to text Ben. I was thankful for him everyday but especially on days where the drama was high.

 **OWEN**

"Pierce did what?!"

Teddy had just filled me in on Maggie's suspension. Teddy was due any time so her being in surgery wasn't ideal but fortunately most of them could be done by a resident.

Things were going okay with us. She moved in with me instead of getting her own place. She helped a lot with Leo, who is still in my care. I refused to give him up. I love that kid and I had made a commitment to taking care of him. Luckily, she fell in love with him too and we even discussed adopting him if the opportunity arose.

I've loved Teddy for a long time and I'd be lying if I said that I once believed we would end up together. But lately I couldn't get Amelia off of my mind. I heard she was dating again and she looked happy. She would acknowledge me if need be but she made sure to stay away. I knew she was respecting Teddy and I couldn't even hate her for that. It just seemed like it was yesterday when her and I were discussing starting a family of our own.

"Did you hear me?" Teddy asked, snapping me out of my subconscious.

"Sorry…Spaced out. What's up?"

"My water just broke."

 **JACKSON**

Things were going well. I was spending all of my free time at Amber's house, except for the weeks I had Harriett. We would try to do at least one slumber party for the girls to get together which makes me feel like we were our own little family. We'd been together for almost 6 months. I knew it was too soon to ask her to move in together, but that didn't stop me from wanting to. I decided to talk to April about it.

 _J: Hey! I wanted your advice on something.  
A: Ooo-kay? What's up, Jax?  
J: So, things are going really well with Amber. Like, amazingly well.  
A: And you want to ask her to move in together?_

Shit. I forget how well she knows me sometimes.

 _J: Yeah, but isn't that crazy? It's been about 6 months. We both have daughters with joint custody. But I think she's the one for me.  
A: =] That's so great! Harriett loves her and Hannah. Follow your heart. I'll pray for you to find the right thing to do. Love you, J.  
J: Love you, A. High five to M & kisses to H_

Well…that put some stuff into perspective.

 **MEREDITH**

I'm sticking close to Amelia today. Teddy is in labor and I don't want Amelia anywhere near that. She says she's fine. She's been on a few dates but I can't imagine how she feels. A marriage, a brain tumor, a divorce and a reconciliation only to be followed by Owen helping his…whatever Teddy was…. during the birth of his child.

"Before you even ask, I'm fine." Amelia had a coffee in her hand and she did indeed look fine.

"I know you are, but I have a baby sitter tonight and we're going out. Amber is coming, too. It's going to be great."

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

The three of us walked into Joe's around 7pm. Teddy had a perfect baby girl a few hours ago and everyone was doing great. Amelia was still fine but Amber and I both were waiting for the shoe to drop.

"So Amber, who is watching Hannah tonight?" Amelia asked once we settled into booth, four shots lined in front of all of us.

After we all took the first shot, Amber answered, "Jackson took her with him."

"Seems like this is getting pretty serious…so spill. Is everything Kepner said true?!"

"AMELIA! Jesus, do you want us to ask about your ex-husband?! Down the next shot." We all picked up our next shot and drained it.

Amber smiled. "It's fine, Mer, let her get it all out now. I'm going to assume that what Kepner said was true because I challenge any woman that says that man isn't good at what he does."

Amelia and I both grinned and the three of us took our third shot. "So, what do you think Amelia? How do you feel?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Yeah, it's made me think that we really weren't right for each other. It's sad, because I do love him but Teddy is so much better for him. She'll give him what he wants, things that I don't want to have myself. I don't think I'll be babysitting any time soon, but I was thinking of getting them a gift. Really guys, I'm fine. I think it's time for me to start getting back out there."

The shots didn't stop there. We danced and drank and laughed. Amber started doing impressions of Alex as a child and I seriously almost died. We ended up shutting down Joe's and we all stumbled out and stumbled into the Uber that Amber had called for us. Amelia was gone. Even though the two of us were pretty drunk, we ended up stumbling up to my house practically carrying her. After depositing her into her room, Amber left and I settled into my bed.

Amelia wanted to start seeing other people. I really did miss having someone, but no one would ever compare to Derek. I missed him every day and I won't ever stop.

 **AMBER**

It was almost 4AM when I got home. I really didn't realize it was that late. Jackson had encouraged me to go and continuously told me that he would take care of Hannah. Quietly unlocking the door, I stumbled into the apartment. I went to the kitchen and downed three pickles and a bottle of water. I stopped at Hannah's room. She was sound asleep with her favorite stuffed dog. I quietly shut the door, smiling.

I opened the door to my bedroom and walked in. Trying to not fall over, I started changing out of my clothes and into my pajamas. I went and brushed my teeth and took out my contacts before turning the light off and walking back to the bedroom. I stopped next to the bed and took in the site. Jackson was laying on his back, breathing evenly. The sheet was pulled up to his hips and I could easily count each one of his abs. He seriously is like a Greek God. I have no idea why he wants me, but I don't care.

I climbed into bed trying not to wake him, unsuccessfully. He rolled over and wrapped his arms around me. "Hey babe…how's Amelia?"

"She's good. How was Hannah tonight? What did you do?"

Rubbing my back, he smiled at me, "She was great. She wanted hamburgers, so I made hamburgers and French fries. Then we read, she brushed her teeth and went to bed pretty quickly. Her daycare report said she didn't take a nap today, so I think she was exhausted."

"Good…thank you so much for taking her tonight. You really didn't have to do that." I whispered to him, figuring he was already back asleep.

"I would do anything for you. Hannah is a great kid, she makes me wish even more that I had Harriett more. I love being here with the both of you."

Yeah, I was pretty drunk but that wasn't the reason that I couldn't stop smiling right now. "I love you being here. It doesn't feel complete when you aren't here."

Jackson pulled me on top of him and pulled my shirt off. "I love that you feel that way, but we need to change the conversation before I ask you and Hannah to move in with me like I've been wanting to."

OK, I am seriously drunk because there's no way he just said that to me. I leaned down on to him, pressing my lips to his. "Maybe I don't want to change the conversation. Maybe I want to go to bed every single night with you. Maybe I want more than what we have right now."

Jackson looked up at me, with a soft expression. "Amber, I love you and I want to live together. But you're not going to remember any of this tomorrow. I'm not sure if you know this but – you are wasted."

"Yes, I am but it won't change anything, I'll still feel this way in the morning but whatever…think what you want." Attempting to roll off of him, he caught me and sat up so that our bare chests were touching.

"I hope you do. But as for right now, I'm going to make you forget everything you've been thinking about."

Yeah – I could definitely get use to living together.


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:** This is strictly a work of Fiction. I do not own any of the rights to the characters, places, ABC or Shondaland. Medical Terms may not be correct, characters may vary from their identity on the show. Read, Review and Enjoy!

 **AMBER**

I woke up to an empty bed the next morning. Groaning at my beeping alarm, I rolled out and threw on my short silk robe. I could hear noise coming from the kitchen, so I headed that way.

"Okay pretty girl, here's your pancakes. Tell me when with the syrup." Jackson was leaning over the Hannah's high chair putting syrup on her pancakes.

"Good morning, sweetheart! How was your night with Jackson?"

My daughter looked up at me, grinning with syrup running down her face. "Yes! We read and played."

"I heard you didn't nap at daycare yesterday…what's up with that?"

Hannah narrowed her eyes at Jackson who put his arms up in the air. "Hey Hannah, moms know everything."

Kissing the top of her head and telling her to make sure she naps today, I walked into the kitchen and took the coffee cup that Jackson was holding out for me. Holding the cup in one hand, I wrapped my other arm around his torso. "Good morning, handsome." After kissing him, I busied myself with the pancakes that he had set aside for me. All the sudden my phone started ringing. Looking down, I saw Cole's name flashing on the screen. Excusing myself, I walked into my bedroom to take the call.

" _Hey Cole, what's up?"_

" _Hey Amber – Do you have a minute to talk?"_

" _Yeah…. what's going on? You're freaking me out. Is Allie okay?"_

" _No, no she's fine. I got a call this morning from Catherine Avery asking me if I would be interested in the Head of Cardio at Grey+Sloan."_

 _My mouth fell opened. Cole asked me if I was still there so I finally answered. "I'm sorry, I'm just sort of floored. I mean, that is Jackson's mom and she sits on the board, but I didn't know anything about this. What are you thinking?"_

" _Amber…this could be a really good thing. We would be closer to Hannah and its better money and all around a better hospital. Allie is completely for this, she's already looked up teaching jobs there. But we won't do this if it would make you uncomfortable."_

" _Cole, it wouldn't bother me. I think it would be a great thing and Hannah would be ecstatic, especially with the baby coming. I would love for you to get to know Jackson as well. I like it here. If you are looking for my blessing, you more than have it. But did they tell you why they were looking for a new Head?"_

 _I could already tell that Cole was smiling. "Thanks…that means a lot. Let's note tell Hannah until it's a done deal though. We'll be up there within the next few days I'm sure, she said that they were hoping to get this change implemented ASAP. The only thing she said was that the former head was leaving the hospital for personal reasons. I didn't ask much. Who was it?"_

" _Maggie Pierce. I don't know her very well, so I was just curious. Oh well, keep me in the loop. I hope this happens. I would be great for Hannah and I'd love to see more of you guys around."_

" _Us too, Ambs. I'll call you in a few days."_

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Jackson drove us to the hospital since he had taken my car last night back home. I had told him that we needed to talk after I dropped Hannah off at daycare. Did he know that his mother had called the father of my child to hire him? Why wouldn't he have told me? Yeah, he's a board member but he would give me a heads up. At least I thought he would.

 **JACKSON**

Amber hadn't said much after she took her phone call, except to tell me that we needed to talk. Just what every guy wants to hear the morning after he admitted that he wanted the two – or three – of them to move in together.

I went with her to drop off Hannah, not just because we needed to talk but because I enjoyed being with them. Not even leaving the floor, she walked into a supply closet and shut the door.

"Is this about last night? I know it was soon, I shouldn't have said that and made you feel uncomfortable."

Amber looked at me with a look of complete confusion. "What? So, you don't want to move in together?"

"No, no I do. I just know that it we haven't been together super long, I just know that I love you and I love Hannah and I want to be with you whenever I can be."

She smiled at me, but her face fell almost immediately. "I'm glad you feel that way, Jackson. I would want you to talk to April and get her blessing since you do have joint custody of Harriett. And I would want you to get to know Cole better. Which actually will be really easy for you." Raising her voice much louder she continued, "SINCE YOUR MOTHER OFFERED HIM THE HEAD OF CARDIO JOB HERE AND HE WANTS TO TAKE IT!"

What?! I had no idea that my mother did that. Had Maggie quit? We would have had a board meeting if that had happened. "My mother did?" She nodded her head and continued to glare at me. "I had no idea we needed a new Head of Cardio. Nothing has been said to the board. I would have told you. I would have, I swear."

She took a deep breath and I could tell that she knew she could trust me. "Is he going to take it?" I asked, wondering how she felt about it.

"Yeah, he is as long as his visit here goes well. She already laid out a contract for him. Allie is excited for it and it would be amazing for them to be in town for Hannah. And I like them, I don't mind them being here. It is a good thing, I was just mad that you wouldn't have given me a heads up. I know you can't tell me everything the board discusses but this would have a direct impact on Hannah and on me."

I moved forward and wrapped my arms around her. "I would have told you if I knew, I swear. I don't want you to think I would keep things from you. Yeah, some board stuff I can't share, but I would have told you about this. I'll talk to my mom and get to the bottom of it."

"Thank you." Amber replied, still hugging me tightly.

Smiling to myself, I whispered, "I would get to know Cole better so we could live together. And just so you know, April already told me she would be ecstatic if we decided to live together."

 **MEREDITH**

I sat completely still in the waiting room of the Psych Floor. I have no idea how this happened – how I didn't see the signs. I heard footsteps and looked up, seeing Richard and Catherine hurrying towards me.

"Meredith! What happened? Where is she?" Richard looked at me expectedly. I took a deep breath as they sat down. off

"Honestly, I don't know. I came home and she was flying the walls a few nights ago. I just thought she was finally getting out of this slump. I was seriously tired so I put the kids to bed and went to bed myself. I didn't see her much the next couple of days. She was texting me yesterday asking me about things in the future; if I ever thought I would love again, what I thought the kids would be like when they grew up. It didn't feel right. I got Wilson to cover my Appendectomy and I headed home. All the lights were off so I started to looking around her. I found her on the kitchen floor, unresponsive. I called a bus and then you. I've been here since then. Between the EMTs and Owen, they got her responsive and she's been monitored up her since."

I took a breath. I still don't understand.

"Meredith, it's not your fault. None of us saw this coming." Catherine reached out and took my hand. "I'll go see what's going on."

Before she could go find someone, one of the doctors walked up. "Dr. Pierce is stable. We found Rohypnol in her system, a fairly large amount. We believe this was a suicide attempt. We will be monitoring her for 72 hours, before reevaluating what the next actions should be. I don't think she'll be returning to work for a while. Potentially roofying herself is something serious; we don't see this very often. She is slightly out of it, but you can see her now."

Richard thanked the doctor and the three of us made our way into her room. I finally felt relieved once I saw Maggie with her eyes open. But that was when it all changed.

Her eyes were dark. She was angry. "What are you doing here? Are you all just here to remind me exactly how wonderful you all are?"

"Maggie, I'm so sor- "Richard began, taking a step closer.

Maggie's face contorted, "FUCK YOU RICHARD! YOU WERE TOO STUPID TOO REALIZE YOU KNOCKED UP MY MOTHER! And YOU!" She looked at Catherine, "You have been so wrapped up in your perfect little foundation that you raised a son who loves women and leaves them! Clearly he learned to be completely asshole who cares about no one but himself from you!"

"Maggie!" I said sternly, completely surprised but this change in her.

She looked at me and laughed harshly. "Perfect Meredith Grey. You have everything. The perfect love story, the perfect family, the perfect career. Hell, at least Ellis wanted to keep you. And all you think it's me? Please. This entire place is a shit show and it's because of the people here. I just happen to be the one to let you know about it. Now get out, I don't need you here."

Stunned, the three of us did just that. We left.


End file.
